


After Nightfall: Outtakes

by NightBloomingPeony



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Love, Slice of Life, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26664508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightBloomingPeony/pseuds/NightBloomingPeony
Summary: Slices of life that take place before the events of "After Nightfall", seen from Edward's eyes. Mostly Edward and Bella fluff, with a good dose of Edward's trademark angst every now and then.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. A deal with the angel

**Hello, lovely people!**

**So something happened: inspiration struck me from two sides this time, because I managed to finish a chapter AND an outtake.**

**If the "After Nightfall" chapters come on a weekly basis, these outtakes will have no update schedule. I have quite a few more planned, but my main focus right now is dealing with the big story, so they will have to wait for the time being.**

**These outtakes are just harmless fluff, presenting slices of Edward's and Bella's life prior to the events of "After Nightfall".**

**I hope you will enjoy what you'll find - and if not, constructive criticism is always welcome :).**

* * *

**This outtake's summary:**

**Edward returns from hunting one night, expecting to find Bella asleep. He finds that she is not only wide awake, but also in the mood for dangerous deals.**

* * *

As much as I needed to hunt, I hated being away from Bella. And it wouldn't have been half as bad if she didn't have to meet Mike and Jessica for their one month anniversary (their third one month anniversary, given all the break-ups they had been through in the past few months). What was supposed to be a dinner for two turned out to be a more inclusive event at the last minute, when Mike overheard me telling Bella that I was going to miss her tonight and invited her to join them. And my love, as polite as always, didn't turn down the invitation.

Emmett thought I was over-doing it with my possessiveness, as usual. He, however, had no idea whatsoever about the lewd thoughts the Newton kid had in regards to my fiancée.

"Now listen to me, dude, you promised me you will fight a bear with me tonight. If you go back on your word just to brood, I am telling Rose that you were the one who scratched her Jaguar, not me."

I rolled my eyes.

" _You don't want to deal with that!_ "

"God forbid I don't fight a bear with you, Em."

"You're an ass!" he started laughing and soon after, his laughing turned to playful punches.

We headed south, towards Bogachiel State Park. A mile or two close to the park, an overpopulation of bears awaited us. They were far from my favourite prey, yet a promise was a promise. I knew I needed the blood. Just that morning, as Mr. Banner was getting ready to wrap up the lesson, Bella moved her hair with one swift movement, that sent all of her gorgeous scent up my nostrils and set my core on fire. If I wanted to have any peace tonight when I was going to go to her room, I had to be well-fed. I could not afford any close calls with her.

By the time Emmett and I had arrived at the destination, the evening was setting in. I began to wonder how far along into the dinner Bella was - and whether Mike had made any inappropriate comments yet. We saw the first bears when I was still mentally calculating how high the chances of him making both Bella and Jessica uncomfortable at the same time were.

Emmett grabbed the first bear laughing and held it up above him, while the others quickly got away from us.

"Look at this sucker, bro!"

The animal roared and wriggled above him, his paws grasping at the air. Emmett's hands dug into the fur and the bear whimpered.

"Tag, you're it!" my brother shouted like a maniac and threw the bear at me, as if it were a volleyball.

The impact hadn't moved me, but it had clearly hurt the bear. Its ribs broke in contact with my body and the previous whimper turned into wailing.

" _Don't just stare at it, you know what to do._ "

I knew exactly what _he_ wanted me to do. But I was not in the mood of playing games with an innocent being - especially not when that being was already hurt. Without another word, I broke the animal's neck, to end its pain, and got down on my knees.

" _How can you be so lame? All you had to do was throw it back._ "

I ignored Emmett's disappointment as I sunk my teeth through the thick layer of fur, feeling the fatty layer underneath caving under the pressure, and reaching a big vein. The blood splashed out and right into my mouth. I sighed deeply, allowing it to wash over my tongue and roll down my throat. It was still warm, which made it better. The taste wasn't the best, but I didn't care in that moment. I sucked the animal dry, until there was nothing more to take.

"You're the worst," Emmett mumbled when I got up. "If I knew you didn't want to play, I would have asked Jasper."

"I am sure he would have gone the extra mile of giving up his night out of town with Alice just to maul bears with you, Em."

" _If he wasn't out of town, he wouldn't have done me like this._ "

"You're being a kid," I smiled. "Let's go find some more."

A few bears later - none of which we had played with, much to Emmett's dismay - we were full. It had been a little over an hour when we finished. Emmett had forgotten about his initial annoyance with me, albeit not completely, after I convinced him I will organize a rematch for his sake some other time. It was simple to please him.

"Any chance I can tempt you with a round of mountain rock wrestling?"

It was hard to refuse my brother's wish - mountain rock wrestling was his favourite post-hunting game. He had invented it and it was exactly what it sounded like. It involved finding the tallest mountain rock in sight and having a wrestling match on top of it. Whoever broke the rock first won.

"I am sorry," I sighed. "I wouldn't be able to concentrate for too long."

" _That's the point - at least I'd beat you for once."_

"I need to know Bella is safe," I explained. "The Newton kid is getting on my last nerve."

" _You're probably scaring the crap out of him, but whatever you say._ "

We got rid of the dead bodies and left, heading back to our house. I hated the fact that I had to make this detour, but I needed to take a shower. My clothes looked impeccably clean, as usual, but it would have felt wrong and unfair to Bella to get back to her dressed in the very same clothes in which I had hunted.

It was a little after midnight when I climbed the tree in front of her bedroom and slipped through her window. To my surprise, she was not in her bed, as usual. Instead, I heard noises from downstairs. Intrigued - and thankful for the fact that Charlie was working a night shift - I got downstairs and found her in the kitchen, loading a pile of clothes into the washing machine.

I only needed half a second to realize, as she was standing with her back turned to me, that her top had been removed and she was only wearing her jeans and a white bra. Completely taken aback, I missed my chance to be subtle and not scare her when I said:

"God, Bella, I am so sorry..."

Her small yell filled the kitchen when she turned around - as she did, I caught the shortest glimpse of her bra from the front, before turning around myself. And what an exquisite glimpse that had been.

I couldn't allow myself to think about it too much. Yet my mind was already replaying the short moment in my head again and again, like a broken machine: how the slope of her breasts blended seamlessly with the shape of the white cups; how the wire of her bra seemed to press a little too tightly to her torso, almost hurting her; how creamy her skin looked in contrast to the blueish tint of her white bra.

"You've scared me!" she said, and her fast-thudding heart confirmed her thoughts.

"I know, I'm sorry. I was not aware that you weren't dressed, my love."

She sighed.

"I had spilled Dr. Pepper on my shirt, I wanted to get it fixed."

"But why aren't you sleeping?"

I watched the cracks in the pale yellow walls as I talked, still facing away from her.

"I wasn't feeling like sleeping."

"Did Mike and Jessica bore you that much?"

"Only a little."

I heard her press a few buttons and then the sound of the machine beginning the first washing cycle.

"You know you can turn around, Edward. I'm not embarassed or anything."

That was _exactly_ the reason I shouldn't have turned around. I wanted to, but I couldn't trust my own self control when she was so eager to undermine it.

"Oh, I know."

"Then what's that about?"

_You're too irresistible for your own good, silly girl, that's what that's about._

"I think it would be better if you would be clothed right this moment, Bella."

She sighed again, this time making sure to sound as dramatic as she could.

"Then you'd better wait in my room, because I have no clean shirts right here."

This was the only excuse I needed. Two seconds later, I was back in her room, getting cozy on her bed. A little while later, I heard her footsteps on the stairs and then the door to the bathroom opening and closing. Not long after, the water of the shower started running and I could hear her getting out of her clothes and stepping into the tub.

 _Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it_.

Ever since we settled on the sex after marriage debate, it had become increasingly difficult not to back on my word. I valued her purity way too much to do so, yet my cravings for her haunted me just as much as my thirst for her blood did. She had sensed my conflict and not only once did she try to lure me into solving it in a way that would have stolen the last remains of her innocence.

With my eyes stuck on the ceiling, I caved - like so many times before.

I allowed my imagination to roam free. As she was squeezing shampoo out of the bottle and on to her hair, I wondered what it would have been like if I stepped under the stream of water with her. My cold touch wouldn't bother her - and if it did, I would only turn the water to the hottest level. I would see those wet locks of hair cascading on her bare back, water dripping on her porcelain skin and on to her round bottom. I would take my clothes off - it only seemed fair to be on the same level with her - and surround her with my arms. I would pull her closer to me and she would feel firsthand the effects of her body on mine.

A wave of excitement rushed through me at the thought of allowing Bella to feel my erection for the first time. I had deliberately avoided this in the past and kept a safe distance when I felt myself getting hard - which was most of the times we were together. Just as breathing came natural for humans, getting hard from the excitement of having Bella close came easy to me. I never did anything about it - in my human life, I must have tried at some point to release this kind of tension by pleasuring myself, but I couldn't remember it. Now I had no interest in solving the tension on my own: I needed Bella for that as well. Would she get scared, upon feeling my member near her skin? Would she be embarassed? Would she… like it?

I never allowed my fantasies to go past this particular point - it was all to easy for them to intertwine with another set of fantasies, that would bring Bella nothing but pain.

I made sure to reposition my erection to not be as obvious when she returned from her shower. She was wearing her usual sweatpants, but her old T-shirt had been replaced with a tight camisole. All of a sudden, I hoped that she would have stuck to just being in a bra, because that camisole was a thousand times more tempting. The outline of her breasts was perfectly visible and the material protuded slightly in two small, delicious places, in a way that should have been deemed illegal. She was surely taking advantage of the fact that Charlie was not at home.

It was difficult to hide my amazement, but I managed to. She started combing her wet hair, but gave up halfway through, when she realized that her waves were unmanageable that night. Defeated, she turned off the light and stumbled on her way back to the bed.

"You seem nervous," I murmured, pulling her in my arms.

"I'm not."

The darkness couldn't possibly hide the delicious rouge of her blush.

"You are a terrible liar, you know that."

I grabbed her chin, to make her look a me. Her eyes were still getting used to the darkness and she squinted. Smiling, I reached out to brush my lips against hers. A small sound escaped her throat when I did that and she immediately grabbed my shirt in response, prolonging the kiss. I inhaled her scent deeply, allowing it to burn within me. It felt right to be with her again - fire and all.

"So how did that dinner go?" I asked over her lips.

"Kind of terrible, to be honest."

She pulled back, her breath shaking.

"Mike didn't feel too good, so he spent most of his time in the bathroom, which meant it was mostly just me and Jess."

I kept my relief to myself.

"What about your hunting with Emmett?"

"He's a little mad with me right now," I grinned.

"How so?"

There had to be a way to answer that question without mentioning the gruesome details of mauling bears.

"Because I refused to play with him."

"Well, that sounds like Emmett."

She remained silent, her breathing beginning to steady. Still, her cheeks had an unexplainable rose hue, alluring me through the darkness of the room. She didn't try to hide it as usual, probably forgetting that I could perfectly see her, even in the absence of light. I wondered what it was that I was missing.

"Is there something you forgot to tell me?" I grinned and reached to brush my lips against her heated cheeks.

Her heart began to flutter like the wings of a butterfly and my curiosity grew stronger. There could be a million reasons for Bella's blushing, but I wanted to skip the guessing game and hear directly from her what was the source of the sudden rush of blood to her face.

"No," she said immediately. "No, it's nothing."

She didn't seem too convinced. I decided to offer her an incentive to talk.

"You're a bad liar," I laughed and pressed my mouth in the small place between her ear and throat. Her heartbeat felt even closer from here. I could almost taste it on my tongue. "Tell me."

"Okay, maybe I don't want to tell you," she managed, slightly out of breath.

"Hmmm, I could always make you, my love," I teased her, descending with my kisses to her neck.

I felt her body getting warmer and softer against mine and it was all too tempting not to roll over her, to press the proof of my desire between her legs.

 _No_. _Too dangerous._

"It's a little embarrasing, actually," Bella murmured, as she fought for air.

"Now I love embarrasing!"

She hid her face in her hands, as if she suddenly became aware of the colour in her cheeks, and I pulled away, taking her wrists in my hands to look at her.

"It's just something Jessica mentioned," she sighed.

I raised my brows, trying to imagine what could have possibly come out of Jessica Stanley's mouth to get Bella so flustered now. When she didn't continue, I had to remind her I was still waiting for her to voice whatever was troubling her.

"Okay, while Mike was away, in the bathroom, she mentioned something about getting to second base with him", her voice was trembling adorably with emotion. "And then… she asked me if you and I got there yet."

I froze for a moment, but I knew that I didn't have time to ponder too much over this new piece of information. Instead, I decided to reply with a question:

"And what did you tell her?"

"I don't know… just that… we're getting there, I guess."

She was stumbling through her own words and I wanted to ease her self-consciousness a little.

"Jessica might be a little too curious for her own good," I said.

Bella didn't say anything. Instead, her face turned away, towards the window. She was most definitely aware of her deliciously rosy cheeks.

"That's not too bad, love, right?" I tried to cheer her up. "We are getting there, it won't be long until we're married."

"Yes, about that..."

She got up from her place and stared at me through the blackness of the room. My eyes glided downward without my intention, right where her camisole was poking outwards. An abundance of venom rushed to my mouth when, for the shortest moment, I imagined what it would have been like if I could roll the fabric down and stare at her breasts directly, undisturbed. The thought of her nipples getting engorged with blood set my thirst on fire.

_Look up. Always up._

I forced my eyes back to her face, glad that she had missed my conflict.

"You were saying?"

"I was just wondering how strict your limits are in regards to… you know, your 'no stealing my virtue' before marriage rule," she explained.

In that particular moment, more feeble than she could have imagined. It didn't take me much to get fired up and that was a problem, because Bella was the same, only more eager to offer herself to me before marriage. And I might have caved long ago, if it weren't for her blood. I needed more time to acclimate my senses to her fragrance, to numb myself enough until I could love her without posing a death threat to her - and waiting until our marriage offered me plenty of time.

I swallowed the excess of venom in my mouth.

"Bella, we can't do this tonight. You know I want to, but..."

"No, no, no, I'm not asking you that."

Her hand grabbed my shirt and closed into a fist, as she looked at me, her eyes not squinting as much as before.

"What are you asking, then?"

Her heart started beating faster, as she struggled to find her words.

"If we could... try some things until we get married. You know, like practice before the big game?"

 _God, help me_ , _this woman will be the death of me_.

She surely had her ways around my rules and that never ceased to amaze me - or annoy me, depending on the situation. But I had no idea how to say 'no' to such a proposition, especially when every fibre in my body and every figment of my conscience begged me to say 'yes'.

"What kind of things?"

"I don't know… but you seeing me in a bra and not freaking out about how inappropriate it is would be a good start."

I nodded, the image of her in the white bra coming back to me, even more powerful than earlier.

"And maybe… touching each other more?" she offered courageously.

I had lost count of all the times I had fantasized about allowing myself to go further with my hands on her body. Dangerous fantasies, of course, but they were preferable to actually doing what I wanted and accidentally hurting my beloved. Her asking me to cave to those particular reveries was too much.

"I think it's better that we wait."

She suspired, but didn't give up.

"But why? We wouldn't go all the way, it would-"

"It is _far_ more nuanced than that, love," I interrupted her. "Even if I don't go all the way with you" - _like I so desperately want to_ \- "there are a million little ways in which I could hurt you without realizing."

"I _knew_ you would say that!" her voice sounded victorious.

"You know me too well, what can I say?"

"Yes, but that's not the point - so what you are saying is that you expect to be able to make love to me without any kind of preparation."

She sounded incredulous.

"Yes, that is what I am saying."

"And you think you won't hurt me."

"I know I will give my everything not to."

"But you think getting just a fraction more physical with me now would be dangerous," more disbelief seeped in her voice when she said this.

I couldn't see where she was going with this - she was only stating facts that we both knew.

"Essentially, yes."

Bella's eyebrows danced up and her next words came out with unexpected confidence:

"Then tell me this: how do you expect to actually be able to make love to me when the time comes without doing something terrible, if you're not at least... a little accustomed in regards to what to expect? Wouldn't it be overwhelming for you?"

When I didn't offer her an immediate answer, she smiled.

I felt almost stupid for never considering this angle. In my mind, the plan had always been simple: wait until we are married, mentally prepare myself until then and do my best when the night of our union came. There was no place for practice in my plan. But the more I was analyzing this possibility, the more it made sense. Experimenting with our bodies up to our wedding was not dangerous - at least not in the sense making love to her was going to be. It was _responsible_. And it baffled me that it had never occurred to me to do some physical training as well, beyond the mental one.

It couldn't hurt to get used to that level of intimacy in whichever way was possible before going all the way. Getting a few bites of appetizers before getting to taste the full course made sense. There were ways to do this right and not steal her virtue prematurely. A myriad of possibilities paraded my imagination and I felt my member getting harder through my jeans as I allowed myself to properly consider those possibilities.

"Edward? I don't know if your silence is a 'yes' or a 'no'."

I felt defeated, but in a good way, if such a thing was possible. My arms reached out to grab her and place her back on the pillow. I rolled over on my side, to get a better look at her.

"So this is why you weren't feeling like sleeping and doing laundry at midnight?" I asked, a smile hidden in my tone.

Her eyes widened immediately.

"The laundry!" she gasped.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it when the machine is done."

"Thank you. But can we go back to what I was saying?"

"Yes, I was getting there."

I brushed the stray hairs off her face. She closed her eyes and I let my fingers linger longer on her temples, feeling her pulse picking up under my touch.

"So do you have any thoughts on my offer?"

"It is unreasonably tempting, that much I know," I admitted.

"Enough for a 'yes'?"

"If temptation would've been the key to saying 'yes' to you, I would be making love to you right now instead of having this conversation. But this proposition you've made... is also reasonable - and _that_ is enough for a 'yes'."

Her heart started pumping wildly and it almost made me afraid that it would explode in her chest. Meanwhile, her breathing seemed to have stopped altogether, so I had to remind her how to be human.

"Breathe, my Bella. I will need you good and conscious if we're going to do any amount of practice."

The word 'practice' didn't exactly cover all the concupiscence involved in this deal, but for the time being it had to suffice.

"I expected a little more resisting on your part," she murmured. "You are notoriously stubborn, after all."

"It seems that I can't resist logic."

She laughed and cuddled up to my chest, her lips searching. I usually turned to kiss her as soon as I felt her reaching for me, but this time I was content to let her do a bit of additional searching. Her lips trailed the line of my jaw, trembingly making their way along my face, until they found my lips. I felt the hot, sweet air of her breath enveloping me, and my mind stopped completely when Bella dragged her tongue over my bottom lip. Unable to resist such an invitation, I took the tip of her tongue in my mouth and sucked on it longingly. A swarm of flavours came over my taste buds - the most potent being that of her blood, hiding just a bite away from me.

I pulled away to swallow the venom in my mouth and I gently rolled on top of her, making sure to keep my weight above her. Bella watched me move with fevered eyes and her hands found their way to my hair, tugging and making me lean down. I complied, feeling her legs wrapping around me. I kept a safe distance, not yet ready to show her the hardness hiding in my trousers, too afraid that it would frighten her.

When her body shivered under mine, my reason came back. She was cold and that was my fault. I immediately removed myself from the comfortable warm place between her legs and wrapped her in a blanket. We were going to do this right - and that meant I needed to buy a few nightstand heaters for my love before we began practicing. Possibly a heated blanket as well.

"I take it we don't start tonight?" Bella panted.

"Tomorrow. I need to get everything ready first."

"Charlie will be home tomorrow night, just so you know."

"Then that just means we'll have to be quiet."

I saw her biting her lip and that made me wonder what could have possibly gone through her mind in that instant.

"Why don't you rest for now, Bella? You might need it if we'll be up until later in the near future."

My subtle promise sent the responses of her body into overdrive. If words could have such an effect on her, what was going to happen when I would actually touch her in the ways we both wanted?

"That doesn't help."

Still wrapped in her blanket like a delicate cocoon, I took her in my arms.

"Ah, you can get me to do anything, angel," I murmured.

"Almost anything," she corrected.

"Almost," I agreed. "Now go to sleep. You've got your deal."

"I'm good," a small grin appeared on her face.

"Either that, or you're just bargaining with the devil."

"You're not funny."

"Good night, love."

I pressed my lips to her forehead and started to hum her lullaby, knowing that I could rely on it to get her to feel sleepy. It didn't take her long to fall asleep after that. That night, she didn't do as much tossing and turning as usual. But she did something else entirely: at some point during her sleep cycle, a few tender sounds started to roll off her lips, interrupted only by her suddenly jagged breaths. I watched in awe, wondering what it was that she was dreaming about. When she muttered 'Yes, Edward, there...' it didn't take me long to understand the content of her dreams.

I smiled. Next time she would moan my name she was going to be wide awake.

* * *

**If you've got any thoughts on this little outtake that you feel like sharing, I would absolutely love to read and respond to them! :)**

**Take care of you!**


	2. All the heaters in the world

**This outtake's summary:**

**Edward tries his best to prepare for his first night of honeymoon practice with Bella. After enduring his brothers' teasing banter all day and getting all the necessary precautions in place, what happens when the night falls and he finally arrives in Bella's room?**

* * *

I was no better than any of the human males in our school when it came to keeping my arousal to myself. That gloomy Friday had only just begun and I had little else on my mind other than the night I was going to spend with Bella. Flashes from last night, when she had called out my name moaning in her sleep, were still parading through my mind when I was completing the test answers in Spanish class. Emmett was still not fully over my betrayal of not fighting bears with him the previous day, his mind silently planning a rematch.

At lunch, I had been a complete mess. While Bella was trying to tell me about how she had managed to help Jessica during their trigonometry class, all I could focus on was the sensuous movement of her lips each time a new word left her mouth. She was wearing my favourite blue shirt today, the one that so indecently clung to her skin, and I found myself wondering if she was wearing the same bra from last night underneath it. How inappropriate would it have been to ask her directly?

 _Very_.

My entire body was a tensed up wire as I waited, as I anticipated, as I longed to take her with me in the storage closet that was always closed and have my way with her. I felt electricity jolting through my every vein and concentrating in one single spot of my body. The amount of times I had had to adjust my erection would have been embarassing if I wouldn't have been so excited. The human eyes were too slow to catch any of those times, but Emmett's and Jasper's - not so much. Their teasing thoughts kept me company through the rest of the school day.

" _Poor thing is going to hit a home run before he gets to second base._ "

" _It's bang city tonight, brother mine!_ "

" _Well, I'd be moody too if I would've lived to be some 100-year-old virgin._ "

" _It's either that or meeting Mrs. Palmer for the first time._ "

When the last bell rang, I was ready to run at full-vampire speed to Bella's classroom and take her away, somewhere where there would be no one else but us. But I knew we had different plans for today: Alice would take her home this time, while Emmett and Jasper would join me for a trip to Sequim, where I was planning to buy every heating device in sight.

As we exited the parking lot in my Volvo, Emmett was already executing the crude joke he had planned during the last period by thrusting his hips up and down on the backseat, making the whole vehicle tremble with his movements. When that didn't stop for a whole minute, I caved and offered him the attention he was seeking:

"I swear to God, Emmett, if you're ruining my car just for the sake of being an idiot, I'm dropping you off in the nearest river."

"And that's supposed to make me stop how?"

" _Let him have his fun_ ", Jasper thought, his face brightened up by a smile.

Jasper's mind was a very happy place right now - inundated with Emmett's joking mood and my excitement, it was almost as if he was high on our feelings. I sighed, making a conscient effort to tune out both of their thoughts.

It was only three P.M., which meant I was almost seven hours away from seeing Bella again. It was too long. With my disposition, even one hour would have felt too long. I ran through the list of things I needed to buy in my head one more time: nightstand heaters, electric blankets and, according to some weird tip Alice had found in a questionable magazine, ginger and pepper lemonade, to help with raising Bella's body temperature.

"Dude, you know what could help?" Emmett asked and I could already see what he wanted to say in his mind.

" _Condoms that heat up from friction._ "

"Emmett, we're not going _there_."

"I hear the kids talking, that's all I'm saying. It's worth considering."

With the idea of that already planted in my head, it was tough to ignore it. The thought of my body and Bella's uniting fully was too much to bear. Imagining the friction, the warmth, her moans… She would feel so good and I wouldn't want to let her go even if the apocalypse came. I would savour her heartbeat, her scent, her taste, her blood…

My fantasy was entering a dangerous, yet familiar territory, so I stopped it right in its tracks.

"I'm not having sex with her this night," I said out loud, trying to convince myself, as well as put an end to Emmett's ideas.

"And what are you going to do? Hold hands?"

Jasper remained silent, still smiling, enjoying the emotions surrounding him.

"No, Em, we're going to… explore a bit, I suppose."

"Oh, so hold hands passionately?"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"We will try a little bit of foreplay, but nothing else," I explained. "We have to take it step by step if we want to have any chance at a normal honeymoon."

" _I couldn't take it step by step with Rose if I tried. She's just wham-bam bang. My, what a perfect woman..._ "

I cringed at his thoughts, trying to block out the sudden image of his and Rosalie's first time.

"Well, you were both vampires, Emmett, so that doesn't count."

" _Do I want to know?_ ", Jasper's thought trailed lazily in the air and I nodded 'no' immediately.

The rest of the road went by quite the same. We arrived in Sequim after an hour and I stopped the car in the parking lot of the nearest Home Depot we had found. Stepping outside in the light rain, I felt the fire within me calm down a little, even if just for a second. Every fibre in my body was aware of why we were here and I wanted to get it done as soon as possible, to get back to Forks and to Bella's room.

"Dude," Emmett said.

So lost in my own thoughts, I had almost managed to block out everything else around me. When I looked at him, his thoughts hit me.

" _You might want to hide that._ "

My eyes fell down and I realized the bulge in my pants was sticking out in the least subtle way possible. It had been like that all day, to the point in which I had grown to accept it as a normal part of me by lunch.

"You're ready, big guy?" Jasper laughed, patting me on my shoulder, as I was tugging at my jeans for the hundredth time that day.

"You know I am."

We walked into the store, the warm air inside welcoming us. There were Christmas decorations everywhere, despite the fact that there was still a week up to Thanksgiving. I could hear Dean Martin singing about falling snow and popping corn and I wanted to bring Bella here as well, to see if she found that as enchanting as I did in that moment.

"Where to?" Emmett asked.

"The heaters first," I decided.

It didn't take us long to find them. There were plenty of models to choose from, but I needed the smallest ones - the ones that could fit on Bella's nightstand and that could easily be hidden from Charlie by the time the morning came. A man from the staff offered to help me and I felt a rush of thankfulness wash over me. It seemed that every little thing around me awakened a different kind of happiness in my brain today. Next to me, Jasper's mind was exulting. He seriously believed that this was the best day of his week.

I walked away with four different heaters, heading to find the electric blankets. This time, the choice hadn't been as tough: I wanted the one with the highest heating power, to keep Bella as warm as possible, and with the lowest voltage, to not attract Charlie's suspicions at the end of the month, when the electricity bill would roll in.

"Poor girl will have a heat stroke with all you've got there," Jasper noticed, when we walked out of the store.

Our next stop was Walmart. There, we found the weird lemonade Alice had suggested us to buy. The smell emanating from the bottles was overly spicy and sour and I wondered if Bella would find it at least palatable.

"This might be the weirdest mating preparation I've ever seen," Emmett offered right as we returned to the car with the bax of lemonades.

"Remind me to laugh next time," I grumbled, only half-amused.

"Should we stand close by, in case you need to be tempered?" Jasper asked.

"Thank you, Jazz, but I'll manage."

 _I hope_.

I had hunted the day before. Thirst was not going to be my biggest problem - not the thirst for her blood, most definitely. I had had all day to sort out my hunger for her and decide how far exactly we were going to go, but it had done me no good: all of my fantasies ended with her naked and soft and with me hard and inside her. I knew this was not going to happen - it was merely a call of the void my mind was making up to mess with me even more than usual.

Back home, Esme had been kind enough to prepare me a hot bath in advance. This was just another precaution, of course. If I could do anything about raising my body temperature, even a little bit, I was willing to do it.

"I've put some nice clothes for you on the counter," my mother announced, glowing with joy. "They're ironed and everything, sweetheart."

The thought of her choosing the clothes she thought Bella would find most charming filled me with glee.

"You're amazing, thank you," I said, as she reached out one loving hand to pinch my cheek.

I got into the bathroom, welcomed by the hot steam. I didn't want to waste any time and risk the water getting cold, so I undressed quickly and got into the tub. More steam filled the room as the hot water touched my cold skin. I allowed my body to sink fully underneath, thankful for Alice insisting on us getting a king size tub, in which I could fit without having to get in some unnatural crouching position.

As the warmth enveloped every inch of my skin, I wondered what I would have done if Bella was here with me. The mere possibility of her seeing me naked, even submerged in water as I was, sent positive chills down my spine. I _wanted_ her to see me naked. I wanted her to look at my stone hard body and not get scared. And God, I wanted her to touch me, to touch me everywhere she damn pleased. But through all of my yearnings, I didn't know if I would be able to stop in time if it got too much, too good, too soon.

I remained in the tub for a long hour, constantly draining the chilled water and adding more hot water to the mix. By the time I was finished, it was way past eight P.M. - I knew then my Bella was probably having dinner with her father and would be finished soon, so I dressed up with the white shirt and khakhi pants Esme had chosen for me, ran one hand through my damp hair and got out.

Downstairs, Alice was waiting for me with all of my heating supplies and with the spicy lemonade packed in one big bag. She was beaming and replaying the visions she had had in her mind, to calm me down. None of those visions involved me hurting Bella, which was the only relief I needed.

"Thank you, Alice," I bowed my head in gratitude and took the bag from her hands. "Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you."

"You would probably have ten times the number of existential crises you usually have, so you're welcome."

"Where are the rest?" I asked, unable to not point out the obvious.

" _Sent them away for a bit. I knew you didn't need to feel overwhelmed right this moment._ "

"You're the best," I said and I reached out with one hand to ruffle her spiky hair.

"Tell me something I don't know."

Outside, the rain was falling heavy. Realizing that my efforts of raising my body temperature for the past hour could be slaughtered by the rainfall, I unwillingly got into my Volvo. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't simply run - that would have certainly been faster. I turned on the heater to the maximum level, as a last-minute attempt to make myself warm.

The roads were mostly empty, the rain forcing the people of Forks inside their houses. I knew these roads like the back of my hand, so I knew exactly the spot in which I wanted to park my car without risking Charlie accidentally driving by it on his way to work. I got out and took advantage of the empty street, running straight to the Swan house. It had only taken me five seconds to get there and enter through Bella's window. My clothes were barely damp.

Bella's room was empty and the light closed. I stepped carefully towards the door and listened to the sounds of the house, to understand where she was: when I heard the swishing sound of water being spit into the sink, I realized she was brushing her teeth. She took her time, continuing her brushing for another solid five minutes. Downstairs, Charlie was watching a rerun of some baseball game he had missed. His mind, vague as always, didn't reveal much. He seemed pleased and maybe a little tired after a long day at work.

I started to set up everything: the heaters - all four of them - and the electrical blanket. By the time Bella would be back, the air and the bed will be plenty warm. Then, still full of disbelief, I took one bottle of lemonade out and put it on the desk.

When Bella got out of the bathroom, she hurried down the stairs, to let her father know that she was going to sleep.

"That early, Bells?" he queried.

"Yeah, it's been a long day and I just feel like crashing."

"Unusual, but you know best."

Bella sighed and she was the most terrible actress in history. She dragged her feet dramatically across the ground as she climbed back up. Her heart was beating louder than a drum solo and this was one of the many times when I ached to get inside her mind. I heard her footsteps growing closer, until the door opened.

But just as she opened the door, it happened. She stumbled over her own feet, with no other obstacle in sight. I was right by her side as her body began to fall, catching her before it hit the ground. Unfortunately, the T-shirt she was wearing had a much worse fate. Caught in the doorknob, the shirt ripped, leaving behind a small hole at the level of her waist.

She stared at me in awe, and Charlie immediately shouted from downstairs:

"Everything all right, Bells?"

I smiled, watching as she was trying to collect herself. Just to mess a little more with her senses, I leaned down, pushed her hair away and kissed the delicate outline of her throat. She let out a long sigh when my lips touched her skin. I noticed her scent was more potent than usual, but it didn't seem to come from her blood.

"Bella? Do I need to come up?" her father insisted.

"N-no! It's fine! I'm fine! I tripped, it's fine!"

"Say 'fine' one more time," I suggested, my lips now silently playing with her earlobe.

Charlie mumbled something, but I couldn't pay attention. The only sound that mattered now was that of her heart, singing the most delicious melody as it pumped her blood. Seeing that she was momentarily unable to do much else than getting her fingers in my hair while I was studying her neck with ravenous kisses, I closed the door behind her and lifted her in my arms.

"God, I couldn't wait for this," I said, as I continued my passionate attack.

"Me neither," she managed.

"Do you have any idea how hard it's been all day?"

It had surely been _hard_ in more ways than she imagined, but I wasn't going to be crass and tell her about my day-long erection.

"How so?"

She had to be kidding me. Had she not noticed how I had been staring at her so intently all day at school, to the point in which Mike Newton thought that I might as well get a room instead of "eye-banging" her?

"Oh, you want me to explain how I've been driven insane all day today with my need for you, sweetheart?"

As I said the words, I laid her down on the warm bed. I had never seen a sight more beautiful in my entire life. She was flushed down to her neck and her eyes glistened in the darkness, calling me to get lost in them.

"Y-yes," she said.

I smiled.

"For starters, that blouse you were wearing."

 _The one that is so thin that you might as well not wear it_.

"What about it?" she whispered.

"You know it is my favourite on you, don't you?"

Her smile did the answering for her.

"I had thought all day about what you were wearing underneath it," I admitted, tracing the contour of her lips with my fingers.

Her lips parted more under my touch and I wondered what it would have looked like if I let my thumb slide between them.

"Just... my bra," she answered softly, the sound almost a coo.

"The one from yesterday?"

"Yes..."

"Mmmmm..."

Carefully, I moved until I was between her legs. I kept my pelvis above, not yet showing her the powerful effect she had on me. _We'll do this slow_ , I ordered myself. I wanted to walk her through every possible chamber of pleasure that we could afford to visit until our wedding night.

The truth was that I had not set enough limits as I probably should have done with what we were doing. I had wondered all through last night what was the farthest I could go while still keeping her virginity intact and my thirst for her blood under control - and I hadn't really found an answer. Bluffing my way through this was not smart, but I knew Bella trusted me with her body and mind. And this thing we were doing would help me get accustomed to a portion of the delight we would experience not long from now - maybe enough to not lose it.

"You're so warm," she observed, her hands now tracing the contour of my forearms, bringing with them a powerful current.

I didn't know if it was the blanket underneath, the heaters on the nightstand or my long hot bath that had her believe this, but I was thankful nonetheless. I _wanted_ to be warm for her. If I was warm, she was comfortable, and that made me happy. It was simple.

"Not as warm as you are," I replied, leaning down, so that I could get back to kissing her throat.

She tilted her head back, to offer me better access. Her back arched upwards, and I felt her chest rubbing against me ever so slightly when she did that. My shaft responded to the slight friction, jolting in my pants to be set free.

"Edward," her voice came as my saving grace.

"Hm?"

"Do you mind taking your shirt off?"

When I separated from her neck, I noticed the delicious colour of her cheeks and I was ready to do anything that would keep that colour there. Without another thought, I started unbuttoning my shirt, not once breaking eye contact with her. I wasn't sure how well she could see me, but the lightning was definitely better than last night, because the radiators emitted a low light. I took it off and, not really caring enough to be more considerate, I threw it on the floor. Her room was already a clustered chaos, my shirt on the floor only added to the flair.

Bella bit her lip, as she took in my appearance. Her eyes wandered over my body and her hands extended to touch my chest. She kept her movements careful, as if trying to catch the slightest sign that it could get too intense for me and too dangerous for her, but I felt in control. Her fingers felt like hot like fire as she moved them against my skin and I was trying very hard to process the great pleasure that this simple gesture brought, unable to understand how I had ever lived without Bella touching me like this until now.

"This feels so good, love..." I encouraged her.

Her hand wandered lower, over my stomach, and my muscles clenched with desire at the feeling. With her teeth still sunk in her lip, she dared to get even further, on my abdomen. _Please go lower, please go lower, please go lower_. Lust and reason fought in my head, each of them trying to gain dominance over the other.

Looking down, my erection was obvious. But it was hidden behind her pelvis, so she had no way to see it. My animalistic side longed to unzip my pants, show her the proof of my desire, tell her that this unbearable hardness was only her doing and invite her to take me in her small hand. But the gentleman in me would never come forward with such a proposition - at least not so soon.

"You're beautiful," she pondered, her fingers hesitating just above the waist of my pants.

If she was going to linger one second longer there, I would be lost. Carefully, I took her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head, on the pillow.

"My turn?" I asked.

She nodded in agremeent, breathing heavily under me. Still keeping her wrists locked, I allowed my free hand to caress her face. This was a safe thing to do - incomparable to all the other things I wanted to do to her. It kept me grounded. Anything that could keep me grounded in these moments was a blessing.

But my free hand had other plans. Leaving her rosy cheek behind, it descended to her neck. There was something impossibly primal and insanely lustful in just touching her throat like this. One wrong movement on my part could have costed everything for both of us. Gently - so gently - I let my fingers trace the network of veins underneath her skin. Pulsing with that wet, perfect blood of hers, they aroused every single hunger in me. If I could just let my nail scrape her skin and watch the blood come to the surface, only a drop of it. If I could taste that heavenly drop…

I forced my hand off her neck and back to safety. This safety was anywhere where I could not concentrate on her appealing veins and it so happened to be on her breastbone. Her heart was thudding rapidly under my palm, making a beautiful noise, showing me just how excited she was. With that noise in my ears, I slowly realized how close I was to her breasts. It was not the first time - for so many times before I had been right where I was right now, aching to move further, until my hand could cup the soft flesh that called for me. Yet it was the first time I knew that I was going to do more.

"I want to see you, Bella," I muttered. "Can I take your shirt off?"

Her 'yes' came quicker than if she were a vampire. I let go of her wrists and, as tenderly as I could, grabbed the thin material of her T-shirt and started rolling it up her waist. The skin of her abdomen revealed itself to me, creamy and mouthwatering - it seemed as if I needed to have a taste of every little piece of her. I rolled the fabric higher, revealing her delicate ribs. They looked so fragile now, with nothing else to cover them, serving as a reminder that I had to be on my best behaviour with her at all times.

Liquid fire began to flow through my body when I arrived where I wanted most. I wanted to make this particular moment last forever. She had never done this before and neither did I, but she trusted me with this. It was my ultimate privilege to know that I would be the first and last man to see her so vulnerable, yet so inflamed by desire. This made me acutely aware of the fact that she was mine and only mine, never to be shared.

I hesitated - not because I wanted to stop. Not because she had given me any sign that she had changed her mind. But because I wanted to solidify the memory in my brain, with all the little details attached to it: the rain pouring outside, the wind hustling slowly, Charlie snoring in front of the TV, the lemonade sitting forgotten on the desk and Bella's body, warmer than all the heaters in the world combined, underneath me.

With careful movements, I rolled her T-shirt all the way up and removed it, throwing it on the floor, next to my shirt. For an unmeasurable moment, time stood still for us. All of my previously constructed fantasies crashed. They were pale and ridiculous in comparison to the reality of what I was seeing with my own eyes.

Bella without a shirt on was a sight that no skilled painter, alive or dead, could have reproduced. Her breasts were deliciously small, just like the rest of her frame, yet unexepectedly plump. They looked as if they would have fit perfectly in my palms. Their round contours revealed the most exquisite shape my eyes had ever seen, making me realize that from that point on, I would need to see those breasts on a daily basis if I wanted to remain sane.

The skin looked even creamier there, on this area that never saw the light of the sun. I could still see the web of veins underneath, but not as easily as on her neck. But all that rapturous creaminess ended where a completely different spectacle of colours and textures began: her nipples. It was admittedly tough to look at anything else but those beautiful nipples. It seemed as if they had hardened under my gaze, without warning. Two small cherry stones, painted with the most delectable raspberry pink, only more fragile.

Bella looked completely edible, even more than usual. I had stared in awe for quite a while and it might have taken me until morning to fully process the beauty in front of me, but she was a human, and her patience clearly not as strong as mine.

"I don't know what to do now," she whispered.

 _Everything_. I wanted to do everything. But for the moment, I had to be thankful for any little thing we could get away with safely.

"You're so very beautiful," I replied, even if that didn't quench her confusion. "I don't know how I'll ever get used to you."

I leaned down over her, until my mouth found hers and I felt complete. This kiss was so ecstatic, revealing all the pent-up desire we had grown accustomed to - a desire that begged to be released and satisfied. Our tongues united and danced as if they had never done it before. She tasted so good: of love and lust and happiness.

When her breathing turned into panting, I stopped, offering her the chance to inhale and exhale properly again. But it was torture to not have my lips on her, so I simply moved down, to her neck. I took a deep breath in, rejoicing when her blood ignited the same familiar fire I loved and loathed in my throat. I licked the paper-thin skin with care, trying my best not to think of what it would have felt like to pierce through it, to feel the blood splash on my tongue and…

 _No_. _I am not hurting her_.

The resolve of my thoughts snapped me back to my senses in an instant. I had not realized that I had descended with my kisses lower, closer to her chest. My mouth rested right on her sternum, hungry to get away to the sides, where her breasts awaited. I wanted so much to touch her there and experience her reactions.

"My love," I uttered against her skin.

"Y-yes?"

This was the second time she was stuttering tonight. It was beyond adorable.

"I need to touch you here," - my left hand traced the underside of her right breast as I spoke - "will you let me?"

"Yes, please… Anything you want..."

I decided I loved hearing her say 'please'. But if I could truly do anything I wanted, we would not be leaving that room of hers for days. I knew she would have nothing against it, but I was willing to bet her father would. Besides, what I wanted had to wait a few more weeks, until our wedding.

But I needed the release _now_. Why did I ever accept her deal, knowing it would only feed my hungers for her body further?

I lifted my face from her chest, to see her better. With her mahogany locks spread on the pillow and her lips parted, she looked as if she needed the release just as much. What a dangerous game we were playing - but I didn't want it to end. With careful hands, I caved, unable to resist temptation one second longer, and touched her.

A part of me expected Bella to shiver when my hands cupped her breasts, yet she didn't. But she did arch her back, gasping when the cold velvet of my skin came into contact with the heated silk of hers. I had been right before: her breasts did fill my palms perfectly, as if they had been custom-made by some insolent angel. Their flesh gave in when my fingers dipped into them. I could not believe that something could ever be this soft and pure and I found myself wishing we had done this sooner.

"They're perfect, Bella," I whispered.

Her chest was moving rapidly up and down and I dared to go even further. Still cupping the alluring orbs in my hands, I let my thumbs graze over her nipples. I had to hold back a growl of pleasure when the nipples grew rosier under my eyes, as more blood rushed to saturate them.

Bella's reactions were all over the place, as usual. I had to remind her to breathe a few times, as my hands caressed her. Touching her like this had me in a trance. I could now understand the adoration so many human males had for breasts - but only partly, because the only breasts I could ever adore were Bella's.

As I was kneading her body, another curiosity seeped in my thoughts: what would those blood-engorged nipples taste like? My mouth filled with venom at the thought, as both desire and thirst weaved together in me. I swallowed it immediately.

"Love," I murmured, knowing that I could use the distraction of talking. "I really want to kiss you here. May I?"

I knew the answer already, but it was always a good idea to ask. After all, she was exposing herself in one of the most intimate ways a woman could do in front of a lover, and I figured that it could be overwhelming for her.

"Of course," she said eagerly.

It might have been a good idea to hold my breath for the next step, but I didn't want to lose the synesthesia of the act. I lowered myself down her body, until my head was close to her breastbone, my erection now pressing tightly against the mattress.

"Bella, if it becomes too much for you-"

"Never," she interrupted me. "It is never too much when I'm with you."

As much as those words were music to my ears, they only added fuel to my already blazing imagination. There were so many ways in which I wanted to possess her, to make her mine - some admittedly a little bit questionable. And for Bella to say that nothing could be too much for her to accept made me throb with all the unspoken cravings in my body.

When I pressed my lips on the underside of her breast, my love gasped loudly. When I went a little up, climbing the round mound, she whimpered. When I trailed off to trace the contour of her nipple with my tongue, she groaned. And when I took her nipple in my mouth, sucking on it, she moaned my name, as her hands pressed on my head with what I could guess was her full force, trying to keep me there - as if I needed an incentive to stay.

What a perfect symphony filled the air! I couldn't decide what sound of hers was better, for they perfectly accompanied each other, exceeding in beauty all of Mozart's sonatas and all of Chopin's nocturnes. The music she made was so raw and primal and I could have gladly given up all the CDs in my collection just to hear her on a neverending loop. I especially loved the way my name sounded when it left her lips in a moan - and the fact that she had uttered it for so many times in such a short time made me want to rip her pants off, get rid of whatever underwear she was wearing and sink deep inside her body, in one fell swoop.

Her nipples tasted like Heaven. It was tough to keep my sucking on a delicate level when the flavour was so divine. The effect my lips and tongue working on her body had on her made me overly-euphoric. I knew how much it aroused me to do these things, but to know that it aroused her just the same was another thing completely.

I felt her fingers tugging harder at my hair.

"Oh, Edward..."

_Yes, yes, say my name!_

But through the haze I was lost in, a part of me was aware that Bella was a little too noisy, given the fact that we were not alone in the house. I wanted - _needed_ \- to hear her, but I didn't want Charlie to get awakened by the sounds his daughter was making at the mercy of my mouth.

"We might want to keep the volume down for your father's sake," I managed to say, before going back to my feast.

Her heart started pumping a little louder when the implication of my words set in. For the next few minutes, I could tell that she was making a deliberate effort to hold back. I wanted her to let go, but I also wanted to still have Charlie's blessing to marry her - and I couldn't imagine him being so forgiving of me sneaking up into her room at night to… _practice_.

But Bella slipped whenever I allowed myself to become more fervent with my actions, and I knew something needed to be done if we wanted to keep this up.

Without much consideration, I moved my hand towards her face, until my palm covered her mouth completely, muffling her next moan in its tracks.

"Bella," - I wasn't pleased I had to let go of her nipple to talk - "we really need to be quiet when your father is in the house. Do you understand?"

She nodded her head 'yes'.

"I adore the sounds you're making," I continued to explain. "But I know for a fact Charlie wouldn't if he wakes up. Do you agree?"

Another silent 'yes'.

"Now I very much want to go back to what I was doing, if that is all right with you. Will you behave?"

Her last 'yes' was the most convinced of the bunch. With my hand on her mouth, feeling her hot breath tickling my palm, I resumed my mission of worshipping her breasts.

This worshipping stretched far into the night. I was surprised she never got bored or sleepy during these hours, given the fact that the way humans perceived times was very different from the way vampires did. Every once in a while, I would let my hand slip from her mouth, just to get another earful of her sounds. When the clock on the wall showed it was past one A.M., I knew I had to stop. If I had it my way, I would have continued at least until morning.

Outside, the rain was still pouring. Bella was trying to recollect herself when I reached for my shirt on the floor.

"I swear I am not tired, Edward," she protested with a voice so soft, I could not take her seriously.

"You will be tomorrow."

"I can sleep until late, it's Saturday."

"Your father might be a little too worried if he comes back from work and finds you still sleeping, considering how you'd gone to bed so early."

She sighed, most likely knowing that I was right.

"We will continue this tomorrow, right?"

She sounded so full of longing and I couldn't help but reach out to kiss her.

"Of course, beautiful," I murmured. "And the day after tomorrow. And the day after the day after tomorrow."

She pulled me closer and I obliged, feeling her breasts pressing on my bare chest. That had to be one of the best feelings in the world.

"Thank you for this," she muttered under my kiss.

"Thank _you_ for convincing me."

"And thank you for taking care of everything… with the heaters and this blanket. I'm sorry I didn't get to say it earlier."

"Don't worry, love. You didn't have time to say it anyway, given the way I attacked you the moment you stumbled into the room."

She laughed.

"I don't mind if you attack me like that again."

"Tomorrow," I promised.

I put my shirt back on and laid on my back, opening my arms. She accepted the invitation immediately, cuddling up to my chest, still naked from the hips up. A small yawn filled the silence and it didn't take her long to fall asleep. That night she slept soundly, barely even moving.

Throughout her sleep, I hadn't been as relaxed. I was still nowhere near to feeling that much needed release, my raging erection serving as proof. My brain was executing all sorts of scenarios that could bring me what I needed - most of them ending with me waking Bella up and telling her that I could no longer care about waiting until marriage and that I had to have her right that moment. Fortunately, I still had a bit of sanity left somewhere in me, hidden well beyond the layers of lust that fogged my judgement, that prevented me from acting on my impulses.

When the morning grew closer, I heard Charlie waking up. He was on-duty that Saturday, so I rushed to take Bella's T-shirt from the floor and put it back on her. She was so lost in her sleep that she didn't even flinch. He didn't check up on her, leaving the house in a hurry. Suddenly realizing that we were alone, my arousal became even stronger - if such a thing was possible.

It would have been so easy to wake her up with a kiss. To slowly take each garment of clothing off her body. To kiss and lick and suck on those beautiful breasts again. To let my hands wander further down, to places I had only been dreaming about. To enter her body and _move_. How would her hot interior feel against the glacial temperature of my shaft? How much blood would be spilled our first time? Would she let me... taste that blood?

I had not realized one of my hands had begun to caress Bella's abdomen through her T-shirt as I was imagining all these things. _No, no, no_. I was already going too far. But the battle within me had a simple resolve: me leaving. If I didn't have her in my arms, it would be easier. I got out of the bed in a second and rushed to her desk, where I knew her post-it notes were. The unused lemonade was also there, its spicy fragrance still confusing the hell out of me.

I grabbed one of the many pens Bella was collecting and wrote my note for her:

' _I am so very sorry, my love, but you are dangerously tempting, even in your sleep. I will be on my best behaviour tonight, I promise. I love you._ '

Leaving the post-it on the pillow, I leaned down to kiss her forehead. I then took the heaters and put them back in the bag from Alice and dashed out the window. It was a little after six A.M., so the streets were still very much empty. I walked through the curtain of rain, allowing it to wash away the heat of last night, until I got to my car. The road back home barely registered in my brain, because I had more pressing issues to focus on.

 _Three more weeks_. That was how long I had to wait before I could have Bella. I could do this. I could wait. Just like I had been waiting until now. And when the time came, I would not hurt her, because I would not be unexperienced.

But until then, I had to find a way to hide the everpresent excitement in my pants from my family.

* * *

**If you've got thoughts on this outtake, I would be more than delighted to read and respond to them :).**

**Take care of you!**


	3. Fire in the blizzard

**This outtake's summary:**

**Edward is completely shaken after his and Bella's first night of practice. With Emmett's teasing to keep him company, he struggles to decide whether to return to her room for a second round of practice or not. But little does Edward know what awaits for him at the Swan residence.**

* * *

I was not a coward - even if Emmett had a strong argument that could prove the contrary.

I was simply overwhelmed. The night spent with Bella almost naked near me had driven me past the edge of reason. It wasn't until that morning, when I almost caved and started touching her in her sleep, that I realized I had gone too far. So I did the only sensible thing in the world and left.

Back home, Emmett welcomed me back with a weird symphony of clapping hands and prehistoric-sounding onomatopoeias, congratulating me for being "a good Christian boy, set on keeping it in his pants no matter what". Needless to say, Alice had eavesdropped into my future and slipped some information into the conversations she had been having with my brothers - and that little minx had left to hunt with Jasper and Rosalie before I arrived.

"No heaters can overheat you, my brother," Emmett said, patting me on my shoulder. "You're a cold one."

" _See what I did there?_ "

I chuckled, despite feeling anything but amused by his pun.

"You don't know the first thing about being overheated if that's what you believe," I grumbled.

"And you do, _mi hermano_?"

"More than you know."

'Overheated' was a mild term for how the night with Bella had left me feeling. Every inch of me was blazing with a fire so intense I had no idea if it could ever be put out. And it had only grown worse as the hours went by. I tried to distract myself by playing the piano, but I could barely hear the melodies that grew out of my fingertips. All I could hear was the sweet sounds Bella had made each time my skin or mouth came in contact with her body last night, playing on torturous repeat.

She woke up late that day, as expected, and called me before she had got the chance to have breakfast. Her voice did little to help me feel more relieved. It only stirred my desire further.

"How did you sleep?" I inquiered.

"Best sleep I've had in ages. It would've been better if you were here when I woke up though."

The memory of why I had to leave reared its head, embarassing me terribly. Emmett was the only one in the room with me, but Esme and Carlisle were upstairs - and if they hadn't had enough of hearing about their son getting to second base with his future bride until that point, they were about to.

"I am sorry for that," I managed lamely.

" _This should be good,_ " Emmett thought, dropping the newspaper in his hands and resting his chin in his palms, with a big grin on his face.

"That's why I was all dressed up this morning? Because you thought I was _dangerous_?"

"Essentially."

"Maybe you can come by right now. My dad is still not home and I really loved it last night..."

" _Poor thing is basically begging for your virgin dong!_ "

My eyes flashed at Emmett. Without hesitation, I grabbed the first thing that was closest to me and threw it at him. It was one of Alice's art deco lamps, that crushed loudly in dozens of pieces once it hit his chest.

"What was that?" Bella asked.

"Nothing, love."

My brother was already laughing like a maniac in the background, so my little revenge didn't escape her notice.

"I can hear Emmett laughing."

This got him even harder and it was a dead discussion with my brother there.

"Can I call you back later?"

"You're being weird, but okay."

Once I hung up, I launched from my seat, throwing Emmett directly on the floor. I had only had the chance to punch him in the stomach once before Esme came down to separate us. She was always quick when it came to these things.

"Edward, get off of him right this second! And Emmett, stop teasing your brother like this, you're not five!"

I growled, but obliged anyway. My temper was not worth upsetting Esme.

"Now if you're in the mood to behave like savages, please don't do it in the house at least."

There was no room for compromise in her voice, nor in her thoughts. Emmett was ready to throw the 'he started it' argument in the ring, but dropped it when Esme stared him down with that mix of love and authority only she was capable of.

As the afternoon set in, the rain turned into sleet. I could imagine just how displeased Bella must have been with this particular weather. Rain was one thing, but rain mixed with snow was a special kind of torture for her, as she had told me once. I wondered if her own fire was burning as intensely as mine did, despite the weather. I discovered the answer soon enough, when my phone made a small noise, letting me know I had received a message from her. It was simple and concise:

' _I cannot stop thinking about last night._ '

Something that innocent shouldn't have sent my head spinning in a million directions, but it did anyway. My breath caught up when I answered her:

' _Me either. You've been on my mind all day._ '

Between replying to Emmett's snarky comments and trying to distract myself with music, little else had been on my mind other than her. My erection was hard and throbbing in my pants, as I was repeating last night in my mind, with all the unforgettable details it had left in its trail: how Bella's arousal had perfected her already delicious scent, how soft her breasts had felt in my palms, how her nipples had hardened when I dared to suck on them. And God, how hard it had been to not go lower with my touches and kisses. Lower, where I could hear the softest wet sounds whenever she was moving her hips.

' _Are you coming back tonight?_ '

' _It's hard, but I want to. Very much so, in fact._ '

I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to go another night without going all the way with her. As much as I lauded myself for my own self control, I was still, at my core, a man. A man who had never desired another woman for a century - and now I was craving to possess the only woman in the world that mattered to me with a rapacity worth of the hundred years I had spent not caring.

' _I'll be waiting for you, as always_.'

A smile flashed on my lips as I tapped the buttons to respond to her, telling her how much I loved her and needed her.

"What's that, dude?" Emmett queried, moving his eyes from the screen of the video game he was playing to me. "Sending dirty messages?"

"Not exactly."

"I honestly don't know how you do it, man."

"Do what?"

" _All this self restraint. It must be exhausting. Have you ever tried just, you know, tossing yourself off and calling it a day?_ "

How Emmett's bluntness still managed to surprise me every once in a while was beyond me. I tried to hide my shock when I spoke:

"To be honest, no - maybe when I was human, but I have no idea. I never felt the need to before Bella."

"You obviously need it now, so why torture yourself?"

" _I did it a few times, you know? When Alice and Rose went to New York that winter, rememeber? It's not the same as the real deal, but it does get the job done when there's no other way._ "

If there had been a magic way I could unhear a thought, this was the exact moment I would have used it. Emmett pleasuring himself was the last thing I wanted to be on my mind - today and any other day.

"Thanks for the advice, Em, but as you said: it's not the same as the real deal - not that I would have a way to know that."

"It would at least help with you not being so damn moody. It's not even fun anymore, you're just getting annoying. And you expect us to endure three more weeks of this?"

"I am sorry my trying not to kill Bella on our first night together is getting to you," I snarled.

" _That I can deal with. It's you being worse than a cat in heat that I cannot_."

"I dealt with you and Rosalie for a decade, you'll manage."

That shut his mouth for the moment, if not his mind.

When the night grew closer, I began my preparations once again, going through the motions of having another long hot bath to warm my temperature up, that did little to soothe my excitement for what was to come. As I sat in the tub, submerged in water, all I could think about was Bella joining me. Our naked bodies, pressed together under the warm water, with no barriers… Her cherry nipples on my chest, my erection between us... I would have no choice but to take her out of the tub and make love to her on the bathroom floor, on the soft waterproof carpet.

I allowed the fantasy to go on. I could imagine her moan when I would enter her body for the first time - slowly, so very slowly, to not hurt her more than it would be necessary for our first night together. I could imagine me coated in her arousal and her blood down to my testicles. I could imagine me moving carefully between her legs, before asking her for permission to go down on her, licking all that blood off and collecting it on my tongue.

_Mmmmm, the taste of that... so exquisite._

I barely realized my hand was now on my shaft, moving slowly up and down its length. There wasn't really much time to think twice about what I was doing or to ask myself whether it was wrong or right. So I just went on, taken aback by how good that particular motion felt, feeling the sweetest pressure building up in my core and yearning to let it explode. Behind my closed lids, I could see images of me and Bella together unraveling, tempting me with what I was missing.

Only a minute had passed when I heard Esme calling my name, asking me if I wanted her to iron a shirt for me. The shock of being caught - although the poor woman had no idea, judging by her thoughts - made me almost shout 'no'.

" _Always on his tiptoes, my poor boy. That wedding can't come fast enough._ "

I got out of the tub immediately, draining the water and drying myself. With a towel hanging down my hips, I rushed directly to my room, to avoid anyone else seeing my raging erection. I didn't pay much attention to the clothes I was choosing - a part of me was aware that my shirt would end up on the floor again, so it didn't matter all that much.

"Dressed to impress, I see!" Emmett whistled appreciatively when he saw my grey button up shirt.

"Oh, shut up."

" _So I'll take it you didn't have your big moment in the bathroom, when you were taking that beauty bath._ "

I decided to ignore this, so I grabbed the big bag with the heating supplies and headed towards the door.

"Do you want my advice?" he continued, full of joy.

"I can't remember asking for it, but I assume I'll receive it anyway."

"Okay, hear me out, brother: blowjobs are not technically full-on sex."

He emphasized each word with a serious undertone, as if he was giving me lessons on nuclear physics.

"Make of that what you will," he added, winking at me.

"Always so helpful, Em."

"You'll thank me one day."

All I could thank him for was planting yet another thing in my imagination to keep me hard for an obscene amount of time - as if I needed additional help with that.

Outside, the weather had caved to its own caprices: it was finally snowing. The first snowfall of that season. The quiet Forks was even quieter than usual, as it was progressively getting covered under a thick white blanket.

The Swan residence looked as peaceful as always when I arrived. But as I was making my way up to Bella's room, I realized the atmosphere inside was not as calm. She was downstairs, in the kitchen, arguing with her father.

"I've told you already I have plans for that night, dad. Why would you make me do this?"

"He's almost like family, Bella. It's what we do each year."

"I understand, but it's not what _I_ do. I have plans with Edward."

"Last year you didn't even know him."

"Yes, but now I do, and he is my fiancé. He is the one I want to spend Thanksgiving with, not Jacob and his father."

"Then have Edward come over here. Problem solved."

This went on for a long while, allowing me plenty of time to set up the heaters once again. Last I had heard of Jacob Black was in the summer, when his father was still trying to bribe Bella to break up with me, using his spawn as a messenger. I remembered being annoyed the last time he and Bella had come into contact. I didn't like the way he stared my love down, being particularly appreciative of the way her blouse clung to her chest.

At some point, Bella caved, telling her father they would discuss this some other day. I couldn't tell if she was simply tired of the conversation or if she just wanted to get to her room quicker, knowing that I might be there, waiting. She shut the door loudly behind her when she arrived in the bedroom, as a testament to her anger. I found that dramatic gesture particularly adorable.

I was by her side, my arms circling her waist, the next second.

"Edward, you came!" she gasped.

"Of course I came, my love, but keep it low, please. We don't want your father to know that too."

She threw her arms around me, reaching out for a kiss. She was wearing the same outfit she did last night, the hole in her shirt a little wider now, and it was all too easy to offer her what she wanted, by pressing my mouth to hers. All the heat of last night came back doubled when our lips met, and I kept her hips in place with my hands, still carefully hiding my erection.

 _God, this was getting ridiculous_.

"So," I said, parting from our kiss to make room for some reason. "You seemed pretty upset over there."

"Oh, no... how much you've heard?"

"Enough to know I will be spending my Thanksgiving with Jacob Black."

I kept my tone playful, even if I wasn't a fan of this idea by any stretch of imagination.

"I'm so sorry, I tried to tell Charlie, but he just-"

I stopped her with a finger over her lips.

"There is no need to apologize, love. I'm not mad."

"But I know you don't like him, Edward, and we already had plans..."

She was right, but my ego was not as fragile as to not survive the thoughts of Jacob. If anything, this was a chance to shut down his childish hopes for good. All crushes had to end at some point, after all - his would so happen to end this Thanksgiving.

"Bella, I may not be very fond of his thoughts regarding you, but I don't want you fighting with your father either. It's not a tough compromise on my part, really."

Her lips quivered, seemingly unsure of what to say next.

"Besides, this will be a chance to present your future husband to your friend," I continued.

"He knows you already."

"Yes, but now he'll finally understand you're not some free real estate, as he's always imagined."

She chuckled at my choice of words.

"Well, I'm _your_ real estate," she said.

"I don't think of you like that, sweetheart, but you are right about one thing: you are mine."

Bella didn't seem too focused on what I was saying anymore, her eyes darting to my lips. Whatever she had found there had her heart beating faster, sending the alluring scent of her veins rippling through the air and straight into my nose.

"Nervous?" I asked.

God knew I was. And aroused. And transfixed. And completely in love with her. Could she see it all in my eyes?

"A little bit," she admitted, suddenly gazing down, blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Now why is that? Had I done something wrong last night?"

"No, quite the opposite actually. You did everything right, Edward. Too right."

"I don't understand the problem then."

She traced the contour of my chest with her fingers over the shirt I was wearing, still keeping her eyes away from mine.

"It's just… I barely got to focus on anything today, with you in my mind. With what you did last night… I've been quite a mess."

I could understand the sentiment completely. At least she didn't have an annoying sibling to mock her excitement. Still, I didn't want our nighttime activities to interfere with her day to day life to such an extent. There had to be something I could do.

"Love, do you need a break from me for a few days, to clear your head a little? Because if you do, I understand."

She seemed almost insulted by my proposal.

"No! Absolutely not! How can you even say that?"

She was shouting almost and I had to cover her mouth with my hand. We were lucky her father liked to watch TV on high volume, but I didn't want to risk it further.

"It's all right, I heard you at the first 'no'," I smiled. "I don't want a break either, for what it's worth. It would drive me insane to be without you for so long."

The masochist in me craved the fire, even if it burned so badly. I let go of her mouth and turned off the light.

"Turn it back on," she protested.

"You are supposed to be sleeping, remember?"

"But I need to see you."

"And I you, but we'll have to make do with dim lighting when your father's in the house."

Of course I didn't have to make do with anything. I could perfectly see her in the darkness, just as well as if it were day. To make her forget about this temporary issue, I leaned down to kiss that beautiful vein on her neck, that was pulsing in an indecently violent way, begging me to offer it the attention it deserved. Its throbbing movement got more intense when I allowed my tongue to roam on the side of her throat, licking my way up to her ear.

Slowly, I lifted her feet off the floor and walked with her to the bed. Her hands started tugging at the hem of my shirt, too eager to waste any time on the buttons, and she didn't have to do more to understand what she wanted. Placing her carefully on the bed, I remained in front of her and unbuttoned my shirt, letting it fall down. She looked at me, her eyes now at the level of my lower abdomen.

The simple sight of her watching me with that lustful gaze sent shivers down my spine. She had an otherworldly beauty, especially now as she reached to kiss my stomach, her mouth opening ever so slightly to deepen the connection. One movement on her part and she would feel my hardness on her neck. What would she do then? What would _I_ do?

I grabbed her chin with my fingers, forcing her to look up at me. Just a few inches were separating her lips from the bulge in my pants.

' _Blowjobs are not technically full-on sex._ '

Emmett's voice in my mind in this moment was the last thing I needed.

_Pull it together, damn it!_

I could not ask Bella that. Not now, anyway. The mere idea could scare her, given the fact that she was still, for all intents and purposes, a virgin. I would never ambush her with such a plea. If she would want it, she would tell me.

She was now back to kissing my abdomen, her lips just below my navel, her hands on either side of my hips.

_Too close, too good, too close, too good, too close, too good._

My mind was spinning faster than a pinwheel in the storm. Her tongue felt hot like wildfire on my skin, sending raw electricity to my limbs and to my very core. I tangled my fingers in her hair, to get some sort of control over her had she decided to go lower.

It was admittedly difficult to keep the groans in my chest on a low level. I had been waiting all day for this and it was already a million times better than all of my fantasies combined. I bit hard on my tongue, suppresing a moan when Bella circled the area around my navel with her tongue.

I noticed her breath was out of control just as much as mine was.

"You cannot imagine how good this feels," I whispered.

This acknowledgement of the pleasure she was causing me seemed to give her a little more courage, because her hands were now no longer on my hips, but playing with the button of my pants.

My mind almost had a short circuit when I realized what she was doing.

"Bella, wait!"

_Don't wait, just go on, go on, love._

She stopped and glanced up at me.

"What is it?" she asked innocently.

How could I begin to explain to her that I wanted her to continue with my entire being, but that at the same time I didn't, because in the state that I was in, I didn't need much to reach the point of no return with her? I had already been close to do that today in the bathroom. But with Bella here, it was an entirely different story.

"I may not be able to stop," I admitted.

"Oh!"

'Oh' sounded about right. She seemed confused and the sight of her biting her lip didn't help me much. I wished there was a way I could bite that lip without hurting her.

"I just… I was really curious about… you know…"

More blood inundated her skin as she talked, tempting me beyond her body. Outside of her room, I heard a small snoring noise coming from downstairs, that was mostly covered by the blaring sound of the TV.

"What were you curious about, Bella?" I whispered.

She didn't look in my eyes. Instead, she just looked down at me, right where my zipper was threatening to explode.

"To touch you… here."

I remained frozen in place, unable to say anything. Because Bella - my pure, innocent Bella - had just admitted to craving to feel my erection with her own hands. All of my desires came in a rush to the surface, taking control of every ounce of good reason in me. Imagination took the best of me, making me picture every little thing I wanted to do with her.

"Oh, love..." I groaned in despair, the images in my head too sensual for what we could afford to do.

She waited patiently, not pushing things further.

"Do you want this?"

"Bella… that's such an understatement. I… I _need_ this. Need you."

_But what if I lose it?_

Carefully, making a real effort to keep my breath under control, I undid the button of my pants for her, pulling the zipper down. My member was still resting inside the white boxers I had put on after the bath - but once the zipper was down all the way, it sprung out, stretching the fabric, its contour menacing in front of Bella's eyes.

Strangely enough, she didn't look scared. Granted, she could not see as well as I did, given that the only light came from the heaters. The look in her eyes could only be described with one word: spellbound.

Her heart was now beating faster than the wings of a colibri bird and I noticed she was no longer breathing. I reminded her to, trying to focus more on her reactions and less on the need to screw all rules and possess her right then, while her father was sleeping in front of the TV.

She listened to my advice, a loud gasp coming out when she inhaled again. I watched as her right hand started moving slowly: first on my hip, tugging timidly at the waistband of my boxers, then on my lower abdomen, sending powerful shivers down my spine, then finally, lower. Much lower.

Her fingers felt hot like lava when she pressed them ever so slightly on the tip of my shaft, through the boxers. As delicate as that little touch was, it almost sent me over the edge. I closed my hands into fists, to avoid them from roaming anywhere close to Bella, where they might have hurt her in the spur of the moment.

She kept her fingers there, barely grazing me, for a while. Was she giving me time to acommodate this all powerful touch of hers? Did she even understand what she was doing to me? How monumental this moment was? How terribly delicious she smelled?

"You feel harder here than anywhere else," she observed, slowly moving her fingers past the head of my penis and onto its length.

"Does… it bother you?" I managed to ask.

"On the contrary. It is really… arousing to feel you like this."

Her voice was trembling, betraying just how nervous she was.

"Is it too much for you?" she queried.

A soft groan escaped me when her fingers returned to stroking my tip. I about went through the roof from the pleasure.

"It makes me want to take you right here, right now," I answered in one breath.

My body was begging me to quit this teasing and fall prey to my most human instincts, but I wasn't listening. Bella's blood was singing in her veins so loudly, it was almost impolite to ignore its calling.

"But you won't take me," she muttered, making me flinch from the shock.

I quickly realized she was talking about her body. Not her blood.

 _Get a grip_.

"I will not," I agreed, taking one step back, knowing that this had gone too far for what I could tolerate without making a huge mistake.

Bella looked confused when I pulled away from her touch. As I was trying to compose myself enough to say something, I noticed the air being tinged with another smell, that did not come from her blood. This particular scent was sweeter, more ethereal, yet just as delicious, and I groaned when I realized its source.

Sitting down with her legs slightly parted, Bella was filling the room with the narcotic fragrance of her arousal.

"Why don't you lay down?" I offered, before I could lose my mind completely.

She nodded in agreement, moving until she was on her back. This new visual didn't help much: she was far too appetizing and I was far too hungry for every part of her. Maybe if we could go back to basics for a little while, I could manage to do things right.

I got into the bed with Bella, coming on top of her. She welcomed me by wrapping her legs and arms around me, like she always did, and I leaned down to kiss her, like I always did. This was safe, this was good, I knew how to control myself when we were doing this. But in my attempt to chase the fire away, I had forgotten one of my most important rules: to keep all of my weight above her.

Bella moaned loudly as a result of my negligence and it was too late to back down now: my erection was pressed right between her legs, in a spot that felt more heated than any other part of her body. She pushed against my back with her palms and her soles, directing all the fragile force she had in this action, to keep me there.

I could have liberated myself in a second from this embrace.

I could have said it became too good to handle.

I could have stopped everything.

But I did none of those things.

Instead, I pushed myself harder against her, grunting as I did, feeling the scorching warmth of her body radiating through my shaft and deep into my core. She moaned in return and lifted her hips eagerly from the mattress, to meet my thrusting motion. So I pushed again, my erection pulsing for release when it crashed against the layers of fabric that covered Bella's most intimate part. And she moaned again, this time managing to get out my name in the process - if I could listen to one sound on repeat for a whole day, it was this.

We continued to move together, rubbing against one another with desperation, the only sounds accompanying our moans being the TV downstairs, her father snoring and the snow storm howling endlessly outside.

This was a level of rapture I could not believe could be possible. I wanted to pull down my boxers, liberate Bella from her sweatpants and her underwear, and do this with no barriers. It was so easy to imagine how she would feel - blazing flames meeting the dead of winter, warm waves crashing against rigid rock, fire and ice coexisting in a perfect space.

God, I wanted more of her.

Without thinking too much, my hands grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled up, taking it off in one quick motion. There they were: those perfect alabaster breasts she had let me touch and suck on for hours one day ago, waiting for me, the nipples already engorged with blood. I leaned down to take one of her nipples in my mouth, making sure to grab the other one between my fingers and twist it slowly.

The way she reacted - arching her back, sighing profusely - had me press my hardness between her thighs more intently, as if I could somehow penetrate through the three layers separating us.

"Edward, please..."

The anguish in her voice made me look up, but I was too greedy to let go of the nipple in my mouth just yet. Instead, I sucked on it a little harder, before responding:

"What is it, love?"

"I… I might combust… if you keep doing this..."

I chuckled, secretely enjoying that I wasn't the only one who was losing his mind.

"Do you want me to stop?" I queried, even if I knew the answer already.

"No, please, no!"

Being over-excited made her impossibly adorable.

"Then let's see how long it takes to get you to combust," I teased her, returning to my task of revering her breasts.

I kissed and licked my way over her soft mounds, making a conscient effort to keep my teeth away as I was doing this. But I could feel her getting more and more tensed up and I slowly, but surely, understood a simple truth: she was in need of a release just as much as I was. My thoughts started racing with possibilities. I had imagined for so many times how it would feel to bring her over the edge, that I had an entire repertoire of erotic scenarios to keep me company. Could I really offer this to her?

"Bella," I muttered, stopping my kisses. "I'd like to try something."

"Yes, please."

"You don't know what it is."

"I don't have to, I want to try everything with you."

She was putting more trust in me than I probably deserved. I lifted my head up from her chest, to take her face in my hands.

"I think you should know, regardless," I said.

"Okay, I'm listening."

 _Here goes nothing_.

"Have you ever had an orgasm before, my love?"

I thought it wasn't possible for her to get even more flushed, but I had been wrong.

"Ummm… I don't know."

This was unexpected. Such a question usually had a 'yes' or 'no' answer, going by logic alone.

"You don't know?" I asked in disbelief, trying not to burst into laughing.

"You'll laugh."

"I won't."

She seemed to ponder over whether to tell me or not, but in the end she caved:

"Fine, I had a dream of you and me last night, that felt very, very good and real. And I woke up really..."

She seemed to be struggling to find her words now, so I tried to keep her on track:

"Really how?"

"Really wet, I guess. And my heart was beating fast. I don't know if that counts or not..."

All I really heard was 'really wet'. Bella, wet because she was dreaming of me.

The knowledge that she had had such a dream about me made me feel particularly smug, but I tried not to show it. If only I had not left like a coward right at the break of dawn, I would have witnessed this miracle myself.

"What do you say about finding out if it's the same in real life?" I suggested.

Her eyes widened at my proposal. I waited seconds on end for her to answer, but she seemed to have frozen. When she didn't move, I spoke again:

"So… any thoughts? 'Yes'? 'No'? 'Get out of my room, you overly-aroused vampire'? Any of them is an acceptable option, really."

"I was just… yes! Of course yes! And don't ever leave my room. You just... surprised me."

"I like to keep you on your toes every now and then," I smiled, leaning down to seal her acceptance with a kiss.

Her mouth opened to take in my tongue and we kissed like this for a long while. Unsure how to begin, I started playing with her breasts again - I already knew that I would never get tired of how much I enjoyed doing this. But the tension in her body reminded me of my purpose, so I lowered my touches to her abdomen. This part of her was both soft and firm at the same time, and she arched her back once again under my touch.

"Tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, please," I whispered over her mouth and she nodded in agreement.

My hands were now on her hips. Curved and small, these hips had been the star of my fantasies for way more times than I could recount. With great care, I descended until my hands arrived in a place I had day-dreamed to touch for months: her buttocks. They felt so full and plump in my palms and I didn't even know what to do with this level of voluptuousness. I began to knead them softly, not quite sure if she liked this or not. The way her sweet breath came in a hot rush over my face when she exhaled assured me that she did.

She felt heavenly. All the times I had longed to discover this part of her whenever she turned around or walked in front of me dissipated, showing me once again that the reveries my brain came up with weren't even close to being as good as the real deal. Her bottom felt warmer and rounder and softer than what I had expected. It felt better in every way.

Still keeping my left hand on one of her buttocks, I moved my right hand lower, at the apex of her thigh. To my surprise, the garment of her sweatpants was slightly damp. Moving further to where I ached to touch her, I realized it was not only damp: it was drenched.

"God, Bella, you're..."

I did not manage to finish my sentence. My fingers started moving at their own accord, trying to feel this wetness better, to get accustomed to it properly. I knew she wanted me, but _this much_? Bella locked her fingers in my hair, gasping loudly as I rubbed her delicately through her pants.

Curiosity got the best of me when the hand that was touching her ass seconds ago started tugging mindlessly at the waistband of her sweatpants.

"Please, may I?" I asked.

"Yes, yes!"

It was all I needed to hear. I slid my hand down under the elastic and deeper inside her pants. Everything froze once I arrived at my destination: time, reason, good intentions.

Bella's underwear felt as soaked as if it would have been taken out of the washing machine - it was no wonder the moisture had seeped through her sweatpants. The wetness was more copious here, where only a thin cotton layer separated us. I thought nothing could trump the feeling of Bella's hands on my shaft. I was wrong, because _this_ … this was better in ways I could not even begin to comprehend yet.

"I can't believe how wet you are," I murmured, leaning over her to lick the side of her neck.

"It's… because of you."

She was wet _for me_. A possessive groan erupted from my throat, but it got muffled by the kisses I was planting on her neck. My fingers worked aimlessly at first, just basking in the glory of seeing how ready she was to be taken. She didn't seem to mind, moving her hips to match the rhythm of my rubbing.

I wanted to go further and rip the barrier of her panties, but I didn't trust myself enough to do this. Not yet.

"Am I hurting you in any way?" I queried, in hopes to find my composure.

"Not at all..."

She almost moaned the words.

"Do you like what I'm doing right now?" I persisted, because I had to know.

"Oh, God, yes..."

Her veins were too close to my teeth now, basically praying to be punctured, so I pulled back to look at her before I could do anything I would regret. Her mouth was open and she was a different kind of beautiful from what I was used to seeing, heaving like crazy and lost in pleasure.

I decided she deserved way more than what I was offering. My index finger searched patiently, tracing an upward line from the direct source of her wetness. And there it was, so delicate I might have just missed it if Bella hadn't winced and moaned my name when I trailed it: her clitoris.

"Ah, you like this..." I sighed, going back to repeat the previous motion.

"Yes!"

"Mmmmm, let's see what else you like."

I circled the small bundle of nerves, feeling the fabric getting wetter still, and another thought passed through my mind: what would it be like if she would let me lick that sensitive bud? I pictured the taste, but I knew it would never amount to the perfection of reality. I wanted to push her underwear to the side, get down and collect all of her excitement on my tongue. The image of that had me trembling with need.

Then I noticed I was not the only one trembling: Bella was too. She was almost erratic in the way her body responded to me, in the way she kept clenching her limbs around my torso with utter despair. If she had ever kept an ounce of control over her reactions for the sake of keeping me calm, it was dead and gone now.

As I was rubbing her clitoris in a circular motion, since she seemed to like this even better, I heard the TV downstairs getting turned off. Charlie's thoughts were a thick haze when he got up from the sofa and dragged his feet toward his bedroom.

I immediately leaned down to kiss Bella, to keep her silent. In her fevered state, she didn't even notice the unspoken panic in my gesture. Despite the panic, I didn't stop. I kept on stroking her sensitive spot, picking up my pace gradually, to match her increasing heartbeat. Her entire body felt warmer as I went on and I realized slowly, but surely, that her release was close.

I had brought her to the edge. All I had to do was push her into the abyss.

"This is it, Bella," I uttered over our kiss.

"I'm… right... th-there..."

"I know, let go, my love… I'm here with you... I love you… let go."

Charlie's footsteps were clearer in my ears than before, but I wouldn't have stopped even if a fire broke out. I had been reduced to one aim only: to please this woman, no matter the cost. A door closed in the hallway, a gush of wind made the window tremor and Bella, in all her unending splendour, came undone.

And God, what a spectacle she was!

I swallowed the sounds of pleasure she made and relished in the way she tugged at my hair. Her liquids came to wet her underwear even more, leaving their mark on my fingertips. All the tension in her body dissipated in an instant, leaving her a soft mess underneath me, as her entire being was getting consumed by a violent storm of love and desire.

Carefully, I separated from our kiss to watch her. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks the colour of roses, her lips parted and struggling for air. She had never been more beautiful. And I had never been more happy.

I didn't know how much time had passed when her orgasm subsided. Slowly, I retracted my hand from between her legs and lifted myself up from her, my eyes darting from her face to my fingers. They were glistening ever so slightly, serving as proof of the powerful climax she had had.

Out of impulse, I slid those fingers in my mouth, licking them clean. The taste made me moan deeply - it was beyond anything I could describe. Sweet, thick, hypnotic, sinful. It was out of this world, the very essence of her.

When I looked at Bella again, I noticed she was studying me with questioning eyes.

"I've always wanted to see how you taste there," I explained simply. "I couldn't resist."

She sighed, a small smile sprouting in the corners of her lips.

"And how do I taste?" she provoked with a lazy voice.

"Better than anything I've ever tried."

Her arms reached out and I could not refuse this invitation. I lifted her from where she was laying, took her in my arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you for this, Edward," she suspired, her lips pressing on my bare chest. "You're the best."

"It was my pleasure."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

"This is the best night of my existence so far, so I'll let you guess."

"It is the best for me as well."

Her voice was soft and sleepy, and I figured it wouldn't be long until she would fall asleep. I laid her down gently, covering her with the heated blanket, then joined her. She cuddled up to my chest out of instinct.

"It's not fair though," she mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"I am the only one who got satisfied tonight."

I laughed - she had just had an earth-shattering orgasm and this was her worry? I wondered if it was possible to love this woman even more.

"Bella… I've managed just fine for a century, don't worry about me now."

"You hadn't had me for a century," she replied with a cocky tone.

"That's true."

"So let's do something."

"Maybe another night," I offered gently.

I wasn't sure if I could handle even more heat without going overboard with my actions. And an orgasm would most certainly make me lose any remnant of self-control left in me and take her completely. I had to remind myself that we didn't have to check all the boxes in one night. We still had tomorrow - and all the days after.

Bella yawned, making herself more comfortable in my embrace.

"All right, I'll take you up on that," she added halfway through her yawn.

"I am counting on that."

She fell asleep quickly, even before I got the chance to hum her lullaby.

With Bella's warm breaths tickling my skin, her scent encompassing me with its bouquet and the storm outside drawing ice flowers on the window, all I could think of was how much I wanted to do this again. Now that I knew how much bliss the act of offering her an orgasm held, I didn't want to stop. For a few moments, I even considered taking a week off from school just to do this on repeat. I didn't care if it would be inappropriate, all I wanted was to see how many orgasms in a row my love could take - I guessed three. Deep down, I hoped for five. But if I was being completely honest with myself, I prayed for at least ten.

Damn it, when could we do this again?

When Bella woke up in the middle of the night to drink some water, the answer to that question became simple: _right now_.

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter! Whether you did or not, I am open and more than happy to read your thoughts in the review section - and, of course respond to them!**

**I don't know when the next outtake will be ready, but it will be the last in this series of honeymoon practice.** **But don't worry, I've got other fun ideas just waiting in line :).**

**Take care of you!**


	4. The Thanksgiving Vendetta

**** **This outtake's summary:**

**Edward and Jacob have never been exactly best buddies. But when circumstances force them to spend Thanksgiving under the same roof, they have to find a way to coexist - or not.**

* * *

Some would think that finding a new hobby after a century-old existence is a dead-end task. Until recently, I might have had the same belief. I had always known what my passions were: music, literature, languages, science, running. I was content with them, knowing that they were enough to keep me fulfilled to a decent extent. I knew that as long as I had those, boredom would not be a problem for me.

But I had recently found a completely different, more exciting and crushingly intense hobby: offering Bella as many orgasms as humanly possible - without a break, if possible, because this only seemed to deepen her pleasure and make her come harder. She was fascinating to watch, in ways that no book or movie or song could have conveyed.

Whenever she hit these extreme heights, she started to pant and moan and shake and I had to silence her with kisses, to keep some semblance of silence for her father's sake. She trembled and arched her back and curled her toes and pulled my hair in the process, forgetting the world around her and falling to a place in which only she and I existed.

Her face changed in unexpected ways, the blush of her cheeks competing for attention with the way she bit down her lower lip. That perfect blush extended to her chest and culminated in her rouge nipples - those nipples that were always hard for me, always all too ready to be cherished and adored.

And God, the way she smelled during these moments…

She had always been mouth-watering, albeit for very different reasons. Her blood was what I had craved from day one, after all; getting to the wet, pulsing miracle liquid and drowning myself with it had been a fantasy of mine for way too long. But that smell was now all the more alluring, given the fact that the scent of her ever present arousal was there to change the game completely and send my senses spinning in a million different directions, all at once.

It had become the sweetest torture in the world to be with her at night: with one hand caressing her body, the other hand rubbing against the wet fabric of her underwear, right where her clitoris was quivering, and my mouth planting ravenous kisses on her throat, it felt like playing with fate at times. My throat was burning, begging me to bite, while my erection was throbbing to penetrate. The two sensations had managed to be so interconnected, that it became tough at times to even tell the difference between what I was feeling. Was I thirsty? Was I aroused? Most of the time, it was both.

However, we did not go further. I needed my own orgasm just as much, but the thought of her hand stroking me to my release filled me both with an unquenchable desire and an unspoken dread that I might lose control and hurt her, despite my best intentions. Back home, it was tough to find a moment alone to satisfy my needs - as silent as I was trying to be, someone would always need something from me just as I was allowing myself to fall prey to my fantasies.

I kept trying to gather the courage I desperately needed to just let things be, but it was harder than I imagined. It appeared the more intense our practice sessions got, the tougher it became for me to allow her to do what we both desperately needed. It was ridiculous, really - the very purpose of these training sessions was to get accustomed to these foreign pleasures, so that I could handle the supreme bliss that making love to my wife would bring without ruining everything in the process.

We had to stop for a few days when Emmett's annual pre-hibernation bear hunting tradition came along. It was something we had always done, even before Jasper joined our family. Over the years, it had become a brother-thing. Emmett liked his bears irritable: and hunting them down right as they were getting ready to hibernate made them understandably annoyed.

As much as I tried to find an excuse to ditch this year's hunting trip, Emmett wouldn't have it.

"Jasper never ditched me like this. I'm sure Bella will be just as ready to get a good dose of vitamin D when you return, but those bears won't remain awake for much longer. So 'no' is out of the question."

In a bid to compensate for my missing act, I tried to offer Bella as many orgasms as she could take the night before setting off. I was getting tired of always being so careful and not trespassing the barrier of her underwear, but that had to be a worry for another day.

Tuesday morning, way before the normal waking hours, my brothers and I left Forks. We had a clear itinerary: Washington, Idaho, Montana and back. Emmett was having a blast, knowing what awaited ahead. Meanwhile, Jasper was doing his best to soothe my anxiety - and it worked.

His efforts were doubled by the fact that we would return just in time for Thanksgiving. Usually, my family and I would gather together on this day and just enjoy our time together, playing board games and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, however, I would not be present for these festivities, for I had been officially invited to spend the holiday with Bella, her dad, Billy Black and his son.

The idea troubled me, for some reason. The last thing I wanted to do was to spend any kind of holiday with Jacob Black. If it weren't for his thoughts regarding my bride to be, he would have been a whole lot easier to be around. But I had to remind myself that he hadn't seen Bella in months and that he was, in fact, sixteen years old. At that age, passions could come and go without warning. Maybe he had already found a girl his age to crush on.

For the entire duration of our trip, my emotions had become one big puppet for Jasper to handle. He tried to get some of Emmett's good spirits and inflict them on me, while simultaneously trying to get me to keep my cool. I knew it wasn't easy for him, but at least it made me less irritable than the bears we were hunting.

Emmett had been more than pleased with how things turned out. He fought with the bears to his heart's desire, draining them clean and smiling proudly after each round. I myself made sure to drink as much blood as possible - after all, at some point I was not going to be under Jasper's influence anymore and have to contend with all the different hungers I was feeling for my future bride.

We returned Thursday at noon, in the middle of another snow storm in Forks. Jasper let his defenses over my emotions slip once we arrived home, allowing me to properly feel for the first time in two days. Everything came back to me at once: the unknown events of that day, the uncontrollable desire, the anxiety.

Esme had not forgotten about my plans for that day. She had already baked a copious batch of pumpkin pies, that had filled the house with the warm smell of burned sugar and spices. She seemed to be over-the-moon happy with this little activity, her mind summoning a series of thoughts that expressed more or less the very same idea: " _Thank God for this angel of a girl for giving me an excuse to bake!_ "

Esme was not the only one who had not forgotten about this particular day. As soon as I set foot in the house, Alice was already dragging me upstairs, to the closet, where she had prepared and ironed an entire outfit for me: a white shirt, a tan cashmere sweater and blue jeans. She was fidgeting as she was explaining to me how to keep the clothes in perfect condition - so much so, in fact, that I had to stop her to ask if she was okay, since her mind wasn't giving too much away.

"I'm fine, it's just… something stressed me out while you were gone," she said.

"What could possibly stress you out?"

" _Something happened to my visions. I'm not sure how or why, but it's like each time I try to get a glimpse into what your day will look like today at Bella's house, I just can't._ "

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Ugh, it's all white! Instead of seeing glimpses of the future, however small, I only see these white flashes. It's so idiotic!"

"This has never happened before."

"Yeah, tell me about it!"

She sighed dramatically and turned to take out a few belts from the closet, studying each one of them up close.

"What does Carlisle think?"

" _He's just as clueless, to be honest. Besides, it only applies when I'm trying to focus on your day at Bella's. I can see the rest perfectly fine_."

As she was saying this, an unwanted thought started to make its way inside my brain. Maybe, just maybe, the only reason Alice could not see further into the future was because something terrible would happen - this could roughly be translated into me hurting Bella. But how? I had done nothing but hunted the past few days. I felt perfectly in control of my usual thirst - now the newer, fiercer thirst, was another issue completely, of course.

"Alice… maybe it's me. Maybe I'll hurt… no, I can't even think about it."

"Oh, please! I would have seen that, you know it. Besides, I can perfectly glance into the events of tomorrow when it comes to you and Bella. And you both seem fine. It's like today is broken or something."

She shrugged, but the frown between her brows did not disappear.

"Take this," Alice said, handing me one of the five belts she had been studying. "It matches your eyes today."

"It won't even be visible under the sweater."

"Not during the day, it won't."

"You don't mean…"

" _You know exactly what I mean, now shut up._ "

I went to take the hottest shower in existence - not that it mattered, since it would take at least six hours before Bella and I would be alone and unclothed in her bedroom again. I had to keep a clear head until then. No room for distractions - distractions such as Jacob Black. If only I could pack Jasper up and keep him in my pocket, like my own personalized Jiminy Cricket.

This was ridiculous. I could not let Billy's kid ruin this day.

Esme wrapped all the pies she had baked in foil, then went the extra mile and wrapped them in colourful wrapping paper as well. She insisted on getting them to my car herself and I let her have her way. I realized with a pang of regret this might be one of Esme's last chances to bake something for someone she loved.

"Now," my mother said, after she arranged the pies in an unbreakable formation. "You drive slow, because I don't want my pies getting ruined, you understand?"

"Of course."

"And please, be your usual courteous self, even if you might not be a fan of the guests."

" _They_ are not fans of me," I protested.

" _Semantics, honey. You know very well what I meant by that_."

I nodded, a little unsure whether I could keep that promise or not - I guess that depended on how the events of that day would transpire.

"I don't want Bella's father to think you've been raised by wolves. Promise me you'll behave."

"I promise I'll try," I said, knowing that this was the best I could offer her.

She hugged me tightly and let me go, but not before telling me how much she was going to miss me that particular day. I assured her I would miss her too - after all, this was the first Thanksgiving away from my family.

I drove slowly to the Swan residence, the howling storm making this task easier. I had not called Bella to let her know that I was back, but she knew I would be coming around this hour. The bigger part of me wondered how she had been coping these past few days. Truth be told, she did appear to be almost as drunk on this new hobby of mine as I was right before I left. While I had been having Jasper keeping my emotions in check, she did not have that luxury.

Maybe she had been having those wet dreams she had told me about again. Or maybe… she tried pleasing herself. The image of Bella slipping her delicate fingers under the fabric of her underwear, where the most exquisite place awaited, made my erection throb painfully in my jeans. I wanted full access to that place so much, if only I could trust myself enough to do it without losing myself.

The low rumble of voices and thoughts pulled me from my reckless fantasies. I was close enough to hear Billy and Charlie having small talk over the football game, but also the lovely sound of my Bella laughing. What had amused her?

" _God, she's beautiful when she's laughing_ ," this was a mental voice I had heard enough times to recognize it: Jacob.

My hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel and I pushed hard on the accelerator. He was, of course, allowed to think that. After all, Bella _was_ beautiful when she was laughing. And when she wasn't. And just about any other moment. Still, rage boiled through my veins as his thoughts started focusing more and more on the shape of her lips.

 _My lips_ , I thought hungrily.

I was in front of Bella's house in no time. Right as I was parking the car, a revolting smell hit me. It was tough to pinpoint exactly what it was, especially since few - if any - scents could provoke such a strong negative reaction within me. It smelled like fur drenched in water and slowly turning moldy. But that could not be it, since there were no animals within hearing distance.

Stepping outside the car and grabbing the pies Esme had made, I rushed to the door and knocked three times. It felt unusual to do so - I was so used to entering the house through Bella's window, that it almost felt unnatural to knock.

" _Oh, good, the bloodsucking leech is here._ "

I froze in place when I realized that this particular thought did not come from Billy. It belonged to his son. However, that made no sense. The kid had made it clear to his father on countless occasions that he did not believe the legends about the cold ones. He was part of the new generation, the one that did not take the old stories too seriously. The last time I had been around him, he still found the stories foolish to the point of being embarrassed by his father being so adamant in his belief of them.

What had changed?

I heard Bella stumbling her way to the door as I was trying to process the strange new path of Jacob's thoughts. Her heart was beating louder than all the other hearts in the house and I found myself momentarily forgetting everything else. I inhaled the frozen air of the blizzard deeply, preparing my lungs for the burning her scent would bring. She opened the door and nothing else mattered when I saw her.

She was wearing a blouse I had never seen before: white, form-fitting, with a small lace detail over her chest. The blouse was tucked inside a skirt - her only skirt, I realized, the one she had worn back in spring, when she had met my family - that revealed her cream-coloured calves.

All of a sudden, it became incredibly difficult to not throw the pies away in the snow, undress her and make love to her right there, in the doorway.

"I've been waiting for you," she skipped past 'hello' and threw her arms around me, pressing her body against mine in the process.

I made sure to enter the house as I hugged her back with one arm, because I didn't want her to catch a cold from standing in the bone-chilling storm one second too long. Closing the door behind me, I pulled her closer to me and lifted her up from the ground, so that I could reach her easier.

"And I've missed you like crazy," I said, delighted to see her cheeks getting rosier every second. "You're ravishingly beautiful, by the way."

She smiled and reached out to kiss me, her lips parting as soon as they met mine. My body betrayed me in a second, reminding me just how much being away from her had affected me: my lips parted as well, allowing my tongue to escape and invade her mouth, while the arm holding her up pressed her closer to my body - close enough for her to feel how hard I was.

It felt liberating to no longer hide this part of myself from her. It felt right. I realized how silly I had been for ever believing it would scare her. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect on her: it got her wet, as the scent of her arousal in the air alerted me.

"I've missed you too," she whispered when I started sucking on her lower lip. "So, so much…"

Hearing a new set of footsteps approaching us should have alerted me to stop - but when I realized whose footsteps those were, I decided stopping was the last thing I wanted to do. Instead, I lowered my mouth to Bella's neck and started licking the fast-throbbing veins underneath. I could almost taste their contents - that thin and fragile they were.

" _This can't be happening, he's not seriously feeding from her, he can't do that… no, he's just kissing her… but why the hell does she look like she's enjoying it?_ "

I ignored Jacob's thoughts, happy that Bella had not noticed him. It was not as easy to ignore the fact that the repulsive smell seemed to be even stronger now, inside the house.

"Mmmmm, I can feel that, my love," I murmured, grazing the delicate skin carefully, trying to inhale her sweet scent deeper.

"Hey," Jacob said, unashamed of his rude interruption.

Bella winced ever so slightly when she realized we were being watched. I let her down gently, still keeping one arm around her body, as my eyes darted in the direction of the intruder.

He looked like Jacob, but definitely not like the young scrawny kid I knew. His long locks were no longer there, replaced by a short haircut. He was taller too; I could guess somewhere around six feet and two inches - almost as tall as I was. And the scrawniness had been replaced by bulky muscles that were well defined and perfectly visible under his clothing.

His gaze was spewing fire and I felt myself amused by this.

"Hello, Jacob," I offered politely, as I had promised Esme. "Haven't seen you in ages."

" _Dumb bloodsucker_."

"Edward," he said with his jaw clenched.

What was this boy's problem?

I could feel Bella's eyes burning a hole through my skull - as polite as I was, I knew she could feel the tension tightening every muscle in my body. I could not understand, for the life of me, what was wrong with Jacob. Of course, he had never been my biggest fan, for he had been crushing on Bella ever since she tried to seduce the truth about my family out of him. But his mind had always been this happy-go-lucky place, despite his disapproval of me.

There was no trace of that now, as he was throwing daggers in my direction. Something had changed. For the worse.

" _I can keep it under control. I won't shift. No, that would cause too big of a scene._ "

Shifting? What was he on about?

It could not possibly be…

No, the shapeshifting gene of the Quileutes was no longer active. It had not been active for decades.

There were no wolves in La Push, that much I knew. Still, the revolting smell, the sudden shift in thinking - those things could not be ignored. Then Alice's blurred visions…

The pieces of the puzzle started arranging themselves in my mind, slowly gluing themselves together to form one clear thought: somehow, someway, Jacob was a werewolf.

"Congratulations on the engagement," he managed, despite his mind spewing thoughts of pure hatred in my direction.

I made a real effort to keep my composure. The only thing that helped me in that regard was Bella's small body still pressing against mine.

"Thank you," I replied. "We'll be sending you an invitation."

"No need to. I won't make it."

"That's all right, it is more of a close friends and family event anyway."

The sting of my remark did not escape his notice. In fact, it enraged him - but this was no ordinary rage. While I could not feel it, I could make out what it was doing to his mind. It was so intense, that all of his thoughts disappeared at once. They had been replaced by images: violent, abrupt glimpses of a brown wolf tearing me apart piece by piece.

I pushed Bella behind me in an instant.

"Edward, what's going on?" she demanded.

" _He wouldn't seriously think I would hurt her… I'll show him._ "

He took a few steps in our direction, but stopped right as Charlie came to welcome me.

"I thought I heard voices," he said, unusually cheerful. "Come here, happy Thanksgiving, Edward!"

I half-heartedly distanced myself from Bella, to shake hands with her father. He immediately noticed the pile of pies in my other hand.

"Wow, you surely came prepared!" he said. "Those smell delicious."

"Yes, Sir. My mother has her own special recipe."

"Well, send her my blessings! I have been eating store-bought pumpkin pies for far too long."

I smiled, thankful for the distraction. Bella helped me out of my jacket and I felt an unexpected pang of delight at the sight of her taking my jacket off and placing it carefully on the hanger.

"My daughter made some killer turkey. And the best green bean casserole I've ever had in my life."

"I'm sure it's delicious - she's a talent in the kitchen."

I flashed her a quick smile and she blushed adorably. It was no secret to me that she was a great cook - if only I could taste that food myself and actually appreciate it the way I would have if I were human.

"Well, no excuses this time," Charlie said. "You can't say 'no' to some classic turkey."

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat.

"Of course not, Sir," I managed, under Bella's amused eyes.

I had almost forgotten about Jacob standing somewhere in the background, watching everything - of course, his smell made it impossible to make him completely forgettable. While his anger was still there, bubbling underneath the surface, he had at least managed to compose himself enough to appear normal in Charlie's eyes.

"Bella was just getting some sweet potatoes ready," Charlie said.

"Yes, I was helping her with those," Jacob replied.

His mind flashed a quick memory of his hand reaching for the peeling tool and touching Bella's hand in the process. Then, painfully, another one - this time of him grabbing Bella's waist to help her reach for the sugar jar on the top shelf and her protesting.

Suddenly, I was no longer eager to respect Esme's wishes anymore. My free hand clenched into a fist and I fantasized about ramming it right into Jacob's jaw.

"What do you say, Edward?" Bella's father asked. "Football game or kitchen?"

I forced myself to smile when I answered:

"If you don't mind, Chief, I had missed your daughter terribly while I was away. I would love nothing more than to catch up with her - and with Jacob, of course."

" _Does Charlie seriously believe a word of this?_ "

"Young love, I guess," Charlie mumbled, his thoughts suddenly giving way to embarrassment. "You know where you can find us."

He disappeared, but I could tell that a part of him was relieved after hearing my refusal. Billy's thoughts from the living room weren't much friendlier than his son's, but they were far less violent.

"That was odd," Bella sighed, having my attention immediately.

I pressed my palm against her cheek, completely in love with the way her blood coloured her skin with the most exquisite shade of pink.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's see about those sweet potatoes," I said, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

The sudden contact between my lips and her skin made her heartbeat fasten. It seemed that our recent nighttime activities had made her more sensitive than usual to my kisses and touches; the two days spent apart only added to that. I found myself enjoying this additional sensitivity more than I should have.

With one arm around her waist, we traversed the hall to get to the kitchen. I saluted Billy in passing and he responded reluctantly to my 'hello'. His mind was now focused on hoping that his son would keep his cool. Jacob followed us into the kitchen, his disgusting stench following close by. He was boiling on the inside, his eyes obsessively stuck on the physical closeness between me and Bella.

" _He's holding her as if she's his property. I bet his pale ass is feeling threatened right now. I'll show him_."

I smiled at the silly audacity of Jacob's thoughts. I did not feel threatened in the least. Annoyed? Sure. I would have much preferred this day to go the way Bella and I had originally planned: dinner for her at my house, then a one-night getaway to Seattle, just the two of us, under the guise of a sleepover with Alice. The thoughts of what I could have done to her if we were alone in a hotel room, where no one was listening…

A part of me started to understand that maybe it was for the best that we didn't have to spend a night alone in a hotel room. As tempting as it was, I wasn't so sure I could stop myself from going all the way with her. Knowing that her father wouldn't be but a few rooms away, capable of hearing us at any given moment, would loosen my control even further. I wouldn't think twice about succumbing to her wishes when she would whisper 'please', knowing perfectly well what she was begging for.

"So I was getting ready to cut these sweet potatoes," Bella said, unaware of the delicious trainwreck in my head.

"I'll gladly help you," I said, just as I was placing the pumpkin pies on the counter near the sink.

"Actually, I had already started cutting up some," Jacob intervened.

" _So you can stick your helpful services where the sun doesn't shine, for all I care._ "

"That's perfect, you two can do this together while I get the seasoning mix in place," Bella chirped.

Cutting up potatoes with Jacob Black, the boy who had recently turned into a werewolf and who now held an unspoken grudge towards me and everything I represented - the perfect way to spend my afternoon.

Bella offered me a bowl of peeled sweet potatoes, while Jacob grabbed two cutting boards from the dish holder and sat down at the table. I watched Bella move with ease through the kitchen, a little distracted by the way her hips swayed underneath her skirt - and it seemed that I was not the only one perusing that sight.

"So Jacob," I began, trying to stop his ogling in a way that didn't involve stabbing him with a potato peeler, as I made myself comfortable on the chair next to him. "I haven't seen you in forever. What have you been doing?"

He didn't bother to look at me, choosing instead to focus on his potatoes. At least he was no longer thinking about what Bella's ass looked like underneath her skirt, so that was a progress of some sort. However, being that close to him was unnerving - his scent was sickening in ways I could not comprehend. The good part was that I was most definitely not alone in my suffering, for Jacob found my smell equally revolting.

"Not much. I've been hanging at the reservation mostly."

" _He can't be completely clueless. He must know something_."

Jacob was only half-right. I was not completely clueless, now that his mind had revealed the most unexpected truth about this nature. At the same time, my own mind was still recovering from finding this out. Just ten minutes ago, I was convinced the shapeshifter gene had died generations ago.

"And how's your sophomore year going?"

Esme would have been so very proud of how calm my voice was. Maybe I could get through this Thanksgiving without giving Jacob a fractured mandible, after all.

"I wouldn't know what to tell you, I've been skipping classes a lot lately."

" _Thanks to this damned curse your kind bestowed on me. Thank you very much - not._ "

"Oh," I offered, faking a mix of surprise and concern.

"He's repairing bikes now," Bella explained, from the other side of the kitchen. "He's doing pretty good actually."

She was now focused on mixing what smelled like paprika and garlic powder in a small bowl filled with coconut oil. I, on the other hand, was more preoccupied with observing the magnificent curve of her waist.

"That's more of a hobby," he frowned.

"That gets you good money, so it's more than I can say about my hobbies," she said.

Always supporting - I could not help but love that about her, even when her support was directed towards what was supposed to be my enemy now.

"I guess you're right, Bells," he smiled, suddenly a brave smugness settling on his face.

 _Bells_. He had his own nickname for my Bella? My mission of being a gentleman was growing harder and harder to accomplish. His face looked like it could use the help of my fists.

 _No_ , I admonished myself. I was not an animal. I was better than my instincts - even when they called me so desperately to listen to them. Instead of making a mistake, I cut the potato pieces on my cutting board in even smaller pieces, imagining somehow that it was Jacob on the board instead of the harmless vegetable.

"And do _you_ have a job or anything?" he asked, his mind giving away immediately where he was going with this.

"No," I replied calmly.

"Ouch, so still living off your parents' money, I guess."

That was a low blow, even for a sixteen-year-old. Part of me wondered how the sweet and wholesome kid that Jacob once was could disappear like that - did this transformation affect his emotions to such an intolerable extent, that he had become almost a new person?

"For the moment, yes," I offered. "I consider my education to be a priority, since I'd like to go to a good college."

" _His priority is being a disgusting leech. The nerve he has, I swear…_ "

"Oh, so you're _that_ type," Jacob snickered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, even if I already knew the answer to that.

"You know, the Ivy League fanboy."

"Jake, you're being rude!" Bella's voice called out to us from where she was standing.

As a response, he lifted his arms in the air, in a defenseless motion.

"That's all right, my love, I suppose your friend was only joking. Right?"

I wondered if Bella had heard the sharp threat in my voice as clearly as Jacob had. His eyes flew from his potatoes to me in an instant, squinting. I held his gaze for seconds on end, my hand now clenching the knife with almost enough force to break it in half. It would have been fairly easy to teach him a lesson in good manners right now: a knife in his arm would not truly hurt him, now that he was no longer human, after all. He would heal in seconds.

 _No_. Bella did not have to be a witness to what my rage could do. And I was better than that - at least my mother thought so.

"Right," Jacob breathed between his teeth, before breaking eye contact.

" _If Bella was not in the room with us, I would rip his head off on my own, I swear. Who does he think he is? Out of all the girls he could have manipulated into being in a relationship with his bloodsucking ass, why Bella?_ "

My hands were moving more eagerly with the knife as I was cutting the potatoes. Bella's eyes darted in my direction, full of questions. I simply shrugged, since there was no good way of telling her that her friend had transformed into a werewolf since the last time she had seen him, nor that this friend was completely convinced that she had somehow been manipulated into loving me.

If only he knew how hard I had tried to keep Bella away from me, only for all my plans to come crumbling to the ground despite my good intentions.

"So anyway, how is that wedding preparation going?" Jacob asked.

" _Like I don't know what the actual reason behind that wedding is. God, I don't know how Bella could be talked into accepting his disgusting ways_."

The fact that he honestly thought that Bella did not have a major say in this annoyed me even more than his occasional ogling. This was Bella's choice as much as it was mine. His childish crush did not change that.

"It's going great," she responded. "His sister, Alice, is handling the heavy work though."

" _A female leech, fantastic_."

Jacob did not reply to that, even if he had been the one to bring the subject into the conversation.

"But Edward won't tell me where we'll be going for our honeymoon, so there's that," Bella said, throwing me a reproachful look.

"I want it to be a surprise," I offered innocently.

The news of our honeymoon took Jacob by surprise. I saw his left hand tightening into a fist when he spoke:

"A honeymoon, huh? During the school year?"

"Actually during the winter break," she corrected him.

"We'll just go some place where we'll be completely alone, that's as much as I can tell without giving anything away," I said, adding fuel to the fire in Jacob's brain. Let him dream about that.

" _What kind of sick joke is that? He'll kill her in seconds if they're alone, I have no doubt. She can't seriously think this will be some romantic vacation._ "

And just as his mind was going into overdrive with possibilities, Bella excused herself for a moment to go to the bathroom. And then, there were two.

I had no idea what to expect from being alone with Jacob in the kitchen. So many raging emotions seemed to overwhelm him at once, that a small part of me believed he would not shy away from transforming into a werewolf then and there, just to prove a point. But even full of mood swings as he was, Jacob was not a dumb kid - that he had never been. So I wasn't truly surprised when he calmly turned around to face me fully and started talking:

"Are you completely out of your mind? You're going to kill her."

If complete bluntness was what he wanted, then it was complete bluntness that he was going to receive.

"That is one thing I would never do to her," I responded. "But frankly, Jacob, this is none of your business."

"She's my friend, it is my damn business."

I smiled, pleased that he had gone exactly where I hoped he would go.

"And do you fantasize about all your friends like that or is it just Bella?"

"Fantasize? What do you even… I don't-"

" _What the hell? It's not like he can read minds. And I can't be that obvious. I know I'm not, actually_."

"Look," he hissed, unwilling to entertain the possibilities in his head for longer. "I don't know what love potion you've been feeding her to get her so enamored with you, but you are not good for her. And she will see that sooner or later."

"Oh, I didn't have to feed her anything. You see, love is not something that anyone can force."

"I think you'd be the notable exception."

"You are not in the position to make such statements," I explained calmly. "But I, on the other hand, am in the position to tell you this: Bella is _mine_. And she will always be. The sooner you get used to this idea, the better for your ego."

"You don get to say this sh-"

He stopped mid-sentence when Bella returned. She looked at us with a frown between her brows, seemingly sensing the tension, but not quite understanding the reason behind it. When neither me, nor Jacob said anything, she shrugged and got back to talking and cooking, still throwing worried glances in my direction every now and then.

Time moved painfully slow. It took another two hours for all the batches of sweet potatoes to be ready. During those hours, the conversation with Jacob moved at an awful pace, drizzled with pangs and jesty remarks on both ends. This made it harder to concentrate all of my attention on Bella, but not entirely impossible.

My hungers for her were still battling inside me - but it looked like today the hunger for her body was winning by a landslide. Part of this victory was due to the extensive hunting trip across the states. The rest was all Bella, with her perfect little figure hinting from underneath her clothes, reminding me how much I yearned to play her body like an instrument again - and how I craved to find my own release as well. I was not so sure I would find that liberation tonight; not because Bella would not be willing to offer it to me as soon as we were alone, but mostly because I didn't know if I could take it without making some fatal mistake. But then again, I was well-fed…

Jacob's thoughts kept screaming at me: the more time we spent together in the same room, the more convinced he became that Bella must be, on some level, disgusted with me. This little fantasy made him feel a little better about himself, as if he still had the smallest shot to be with my future wife. This, of course, made me obscenely territorial in return: I would find every little excuse to have my hands on Bella, I would press my lips on the side of her throat whenever he thought that I thought he wasn't looking, I would shower her with my love, despite having a one-man-audience.

I had to take a step back when we finally got to the dinner table, for her father's sake. By the time we sat down on our chairs, Jacob's frown was so deep that his father was ready to ask me directly what I had done to his son. Charlie, on the other hand, seemed to be oblivious to the tension in the air. He urged me to try a little bit of everything that was on the table, not once stopping his praise of Bella's cooking skills. And despite my nature, despite the way the food bore no interest to me, despite the fact that I would have to throw it all up later, I ate - much to Bella's surprise and Charlie's delight.

When we were all done eating, the two fathers at the table started reminiscing about the olden days, when they were younger and their children were still frolicsome kids. Charlie remembered one particular day, when a middle-school-aged Bella had come to Forks during the summer vacation and begged him to take her on a fishing trip. From their combined thoughts about that memory, I got the rest of the story pretty quickly: Billy had taken his son on the boat as well, and they all met in La Push. With Bella being Bella, she fell into the water not long after trying to catch her first fish.

"I swear I've still got that photo of Bella, the one we took when we got her back on board," Charlie said.

"I'd love to see that," Jacob grinned.

"Me too," I admitted.

" _She was such a carefree kid, then… who would have thought she would meet such a fate_?" Billy's thoughts shadowed over the playful conversation.

Bella sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You don't have that photo, dad, I do. It's in one of my albums."

"Well, bring it here, Bells!"

"So you can all laugh about it? No, thanks."

"It's all in good spirits, kiddo!"

Seeing that she was so agitated, I slowly let my hand slide underneath the table, on her knee. Bella's immediate reaction was to straighten her back, and I could not help but notice the way her delicate cleavage silently demanded more attention when she had this particular posture.

"If I promise I won't laugh, love, will you bring that photo?" I asked her.

Her eyes looked disconcerted when she lifted them from her plate to look at me.

"Edward…"

Carefully, I let my hand slide further up, underneath the hem of her skirt and right on her searingly hot skin.

"Please," was all I said.

She blushed and looked away immediately, but the sound of her heart was still booming loudly in my ears. The sound of arousal.

"I don't know where that album is anyway," she mumbled.

"Well, since I helped you organize your stuff the other week, I think I could help you find it," I suggested.

I moved one finger on the inside of her leg, adjusting my erection slightly with the other hand.

"I guess so…"

"We'll be right back," I smiled, before sitting up and heading away from the table, with Bella following my stride and Jacob's irritation shouting at me from the deepest pits of his mind.

Once we were out of sight, I lifted her in my arms and started climbing the stairs to her bedroom, making no effort to keep a human speed. Two seconds later, I was letting her feet back on the floor of her room while I turned on the lights.

"What were you trying to do down there?" she asked, completely scandalized. "Give me a heart attack?"

"Never, my love."

I flashed her a quick smile before surrounding her with my arms, pressing her back against the wall near the door.

"The truth is, Bella, I don't care about that photo that much. I just needed an excuse to be alone with you for a few minutes."

"But we've got all night and I-"

It was not very polite to interrupt a lady when she was speaking, but my body made the decision before my brain: I stopped her words with a kiss, pressing her onto the wall as I did that. She soon forgot whatever she had wanted to say, throwing her arms around me and pulling me closer to her, her hands tugging at my sweater in the process.

Everything that Jasper had tried to keep away during our hunting trip came back doubled: the excitement, the fire, the primal need to possess. I had to remind myself to be gentle with her, knowing that my exhilaration could cost us both greatly.

"God, Edward, you're so hard," she whispered underneath my lips, making me realize that I had been grinding my erection against her abdomen for the entire duration of our kiss.

"That's what you do to me."

I made an effort to part from her lips, descending now to her neck, closer to the most sublime scent on the planet. It was almost impossible to keep my urges under control in these circumstances.

"I expect you to be soaking wet for me," I blurted out, unable to put a leash on my words.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

There was no doubt about it: I was the luckiest man on Earth, to be invited into Heaven just like that - and that was an invitation I could not refuse. My desire for her blazed deeply and I knew I had to move quickly if I wanted to not be bothered by anyone from downstairs. I interrupted the kisses on her neck and leaned down to grab the hem of her skirt. I started rolling it up her thighs, until I got to her hips. She was heaving, watching my every move between heavy eyelids.

Keeping her skirt up with one hand, I moved my free hand on her thigh, until I arrived at the heat between her legs. Never one to disappoint, Bella's underwear was drenched. I felt my member hardening even more in the prison of my jeans.

"Mmmmm, you are so ready for me, my love," I murmured appreciatively.

"I've missed your touch so much…"

"I can tell."

In that moment, I wanted nothing more but to discover what she felt like beneath the cotton layer that separated us from each other. I felt my jaw clenching at the thought, in an instinctive motion - however, no venom rushed into my mouth to remind me why that wasn't a safe idea. Maybe I had to be more thankful to Emmett, for insisting that I go on that hunting trip with him and Jasper.

As I was rubbing her gently, I allowed my hand to find the rim of her underwear and tug at it lightly. It snapped back immediately, too slippery from the juices that had been soaking it.

"Tell me you want me here," I groaned, tugging at the rim once again.

"Yes! Please, Edward, I want you."

My hand worked its way up to the waistband of her underwear, pulling it down and sliding underneath it. The new sensation that followed made us gasp in unison - her flesh was satin-like here, more delicate than anywhere else on her body. Then just one inch lower, the satin was drenched in her arousal, slippery and hot like wildfire. Everything was wet here: her clitoris, the thin hood covering it, the small folds announcing the entrance to her body.

"I seriously cannot believe how good you feel," I told her through my haze.

I felt a new wave of sap coming to meet my fingers just as I started moving them in this divine place. It was even easier now that I didn't have to do this blindly through her underwear. I could feel how her pulse reverberated like an echo to her clitoris, making it throb like crazy. I began to flick it with my thumb, back and forth, slow and steady, and Bella hid her face in my shoulder to cover her moans.

"That's right, love," I encouraged her. "Let me feel you come..."

A few seconds later, my rubbing brought us where we wanted, to the most delicious rapture known to us: her climax. Her juices dripped on my palm when she exploded, and I very nearly rammed my fingers inside her - but I stopped just in time. Instead, I kept moving my hand lightly along her slit, caressing it as the last remains of Bella's orgasm left her body.

Through the hypnotic trance I was lost in, I heard footsteps. But I couldn't make myself move, it felt way too good to just let my hand roam freely between Bella's thighs.

" _It shouldn't take so damn long to find a photo_ ," Jacob's loudness hit me.

"Edward, I need more…" my love begged with a soft voice.

The footsteps grew closer, but not loud enough for her to hear in the state she was in. He stopped just two feet away from the door, confused when he heard Bella's pleading voice, realizing that he had never heard her use that tone with him.

God, I had to stop. But I didn't want to. Just the thought pained me.

"Please?" she tried again, moving her hips eagerly, so that she could press herself against my fingers.

" _What the hell? Is he… he can't be doing this, not with Charlie downstairs. She can't possibly want this_. _He's a bloodsucking demon_."

I growled, fed up beyond belief with his certitude that I was forcing things on Bella.

"Tell me what you want," I demanded.

"Make me come again, please! I'm dying here… I need you..."

" _Come again? What does she mean by 'again'? No. No, no, no, he did not…_ "

It was fairly easy to ignore Jacob's wolf stench when I was surrounded with the sweet fragrance of Bella from every direction. My fingers got back to playing with her clitoris and I rushed to catch the sounds of pleasure she made with a kiss. No one but me should have access to those sounds.

" _No, she must be sick in the head to like this… and to beg him like that… I am so done. Screw this_."

I heard him step away and I smiled over our kiss. Bella came fast and hard again, her teeth biting down on my lower lip when she did. It wasn't until she was fully done that I removed my hand from the precious place between her legs and started licking my fingers clean, amazed by this otherworldly taste that seemed to hold the same bewildering spell that her blood held over me. I could not even focus on the latter properly now, too busy imagining what it would be like to taste this sap right from the source.

"Edward," her voice was low and raspy when she called for my attention.

"Hm?"

"Please let me return the favour… now."

I had expected many things - but not this. God, not this. The throbbing hardness in my jeans was begging me to forget all reason. It was aching to be freed from my pants and be held in Bella's warm hand. To have that hand move up and down its length… to let that hand bring me to the greatest heights… maybe I could allow this to happen, since my thirst felt so much like an after-thought. I had been dreaming about this moment for far too long.

A groan escaped from my chest and I took her face in my hands, to get a good look in her eyes.

"Are you sure of this?" I asked.

"Of course. Are you?"

Sighing, I leaned down to crush my lips over hers.

"More than anything," I responded, once I found the strength to put an end to our kiss.

Her eyes widened and the surprise on her face was obvious. She didn't lose too much time, choosing instead to focus her attention on the belt of my jeans. Her hands were shaking, making her mission harder, so I stepped in to help her, unbuckling my belt and unzipping my jeans for her. My erection sprung in front of me, stretching my boxers to the limit. I watched Bella's face as she was studying this new sight - it was the first time she was seeing it without the lights off. Her pupils had dilated so much, that the melted chocolate of her irises was barely visible.

"Can I take them off?"

Her voice was trembling.

"I don't know, can you?" I teased her, hoping that this would be enough to ease her nervousness.

She smiled as she grabbed the fabric of boxers in her hands and slowly, very carefully, slid them off my hips along with my jeans, revealing my erect member and marking a big 'first' for me. I waited patiently for her to do something else, but she appeared to have frozen in place. She was once again studying me, moving her eyes from the tip to the base of my shaft again and again, without saying anything.

"Is there something wrong with it?" I quipped, in a bid to get her to at least talk.

"God, no! I'm... just surprised."

"Surprised how?"

Full of care, her fingers started to move through the wild patch of hair at the base of my penis.

"Well, for starters, I didn't expect _it_ to be so… uhm, beautiful."

I huffed. This was not a compliment I had ever expected to receive.

"Hey, don't laugh," she frowned. "I mean it."

"Okay, I'm sorry, that's just not the word most people would use. But thank you, I guess."

"Well, I really like the shape of it. And secondly… I'd guessed you would be pretty big, but not like… _that_."

I raised my eyebrows, feeling a little out of the loop.

"Like what?"

"You want a round of applause for winning the genetic lottery of well-endowment or what?" she snickered.

 _Oh_. The fact that no one had ever seen this part of my body had made me a little slow on the uptake. I could only hope that my slowness did not pass as smugness. In a bid to get over my blunder, I leaned down to press my lips on hers. As our mouths opened to allow our tongues to meet, I felt Bella's hand moving: it was no longer playing with my hair now; it had started to travel up my length and only stopped once it arrived on my tip.

I had not realized I was trembling until Bella pulled away from our kiss to ask:

"Are you all right?"

"Oh, more than all right," I said.

I could see how my trembling could be misinterpreted as fright, but it was the opposite of that; I was a can under pressure, boiling to explode in my lover's hands. The sensation was better than any physical thrill I had ever felt until that point.

"Tell me if I'm doing anything wrong."

"You're doing everything perfectly," I assured her.

Gaining a little more courage, Bella gripped my shaft in her palm and started moving: up and down, rubbing against the head each time she moved. I found myself biting down on my tongue to stop the sounds that threatened to erupt from my throat, allowing only my breathing pattern to give away how much I was enjoying this. Bella's breathing was just as erratic as mine when she locked her eyes with mine, subduing me completely with her gaze.

I was hers. She could do anything she wanted with me.

The pressure inside my body kept on building, rippling through my frozen veins and sending waves of electricity inside my muscles. I felt as if all my dreams were coming true at once as she was rubbing me with vigour, sensing without my help the exact moment when my body needed her to pick up the pace.

"Is this right, Edward?" she muttered.

"So very right, my love, don't stop… keep doing that…"

She listened to me, her hand sliding up and down my length effortlessly, making me swell with a concupiscence that felt more powerful than all of my instincts combined. I did not recognize the new conflagration that was slowly taking over my entire body, making my tissues boil with need, until it reached its zenith. Without warning, the pressure that had been devouring me detonated and there was no going back now.

No one in the world existed but the two of us.

I moaned and watched as my desire burst out of me in streams of venom, that landed right on Bella's blouse. She started rubbing me even faster in response, whispering words of encouragement as I came all over her, feeling liberated and elated and high - all at once. No words left my mouth as this miracle was happening, only incorrigible sounds.

Nothing could have prepared me for this overwhelming kaleidoscope of sensations and feelings. Everything felt exactly right in the world, as if the all the past events in the history of the world had aligned to lead to this perfect, faultless moment, in which I could almost see the invisible string that had Bella's soul tied up to my being.

Her hand on me had never felt better than now. It made me realize once again that I was hers and hers alone, and that no one else could bring me to such a height, like she just did; only Bella could make me feel as if I had met the most exquisite death and got reborn, all at once. If she didn't have to sleep, I would have had no shame in asking her to do this again and again and again, for days on end.

I knew my orgasm had lasted no longer than ten seconds, but it felt as if I had spent an eternity swimming in my own euphoria. When I resurfaced, I was no longer the same man. For the first time in my undead existence, I felt truly warm. So very warm, as if I had been bathing in the hottest spring for days.

"Bella…" I breathed, every fibre in my body being aware that she was the only reason behind this supreme bliss.

"I love you," she replied simply.

"Almost as much as I love you."

She looked as if she was getting ready to protest, but there was no time for that. I pressed my palms on her cheeks and kissed her: lovingly, fervently, shamelessly.

"That felt amazing," I admitted, parting from her.

"Tell me about it."

"I've never experienced anything even remotely close to this in my life."

"Good, because I plan for you to experience it on a daily basis, until you get tired of it," she smiled.

"The chances of getting tired of it are practically non-existent. God, how I want to do that while I'm inside you..."

My words set both of us aflame - we got back to devouring each other with our mouths in no time, and my member pressed between us, hard and ready, demanding her attention.

"Edward, you're-"

"That's how vampires work, love," I explained, pleased that she appeared to be happy with this discovery.

"Okay, can we get married like… now?"

I laughed, trying to remind myself that as much as I would have loved to spend the rest of my days in that bedroom with her, we had a few more pressing obligations to take care of.

"I think we have to find that photo first," I said.

"Oh."

"That's what I thought. Now why don't you go change your blouse, while I search for that album?"

She looked down, gasping when she realized that her white blouse had served as the perfect canvas for my orgasm.

"I think I've got something similar enough in the closet," she said.

"Good, because I'm in no mental state to invent an excuse for your father."

We parted without much excitement, both of us needing more. It seemed that the further we dove into our mutual sexual awareness, the more incapable of keeping our hands off each other we became - not that I minded. The only thing that helped me keep my poise was the fact that we did have all night in front of us - well, that _and_ the knowledge that when we would go back downstairs, Jacob would know exactly why Bella's blouse would not be quite the same.

* * *

**If you liked this Thanksgiving story, I would love to hear your thoughts on it, be them small or big, positive or critical!**

**This may not be the last "After Nightfal" outtake, but it most certainly is the last one that tackles Edward's and Bella's honeymoon practice.** **There might be some actual honeymoon outtakes coming, we'll see :). Things are a little hectic at work, so I have no planned schedule for when that will be.**

**In the meantime, stay safe and happy!**


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